Twisted Fate
by spankingfemfatale
Summary: Sylar has just gotten his powers back and bites off a little more than he can chew when he goes looking for more. Peter finds him and decides to help him help himself. WARNING! Contains non sexual disciplinary spanking!
1. Surprise!

(This story takes place right after Sylar gets his powers back at the end of season two! I'm playing Sylar and Mohinder, and Jet is playing Peter and Matt!)

Stumbling down the alley way; he could feel his powers coming back to him. Sylar's face split in a self-satisfied grin. No longer was he subdued to walk the earth without his newly reacquired gifts. He had earned them! The rest of them didn't deserve what he had. His mother had told him he was special, and he knew no matter how much he had doubted her before; he knew it to be true now. They would all know the truth soon enough.

Every sound amplified as he honed in on Dale's contribution to his ever growing list of abilities. Sylar searched his mind tentatively unlocking the hidden talents he'd stolen until his mind lurched and his eyes flickered back into recesses of his eyelids. His memory exploded into pictures and fragmented speech like a downloading computer as he fought to recall Mohinder's list. It didn't take long; his smile grew into a Cheshire cat's grin as he mentally processed the next closest 'special' person.

Her name was Alice Monroe, a twenty-two year old college student of biology at CUNY in Queens. Just a short ride on the subway and a couple mile walk, and Sylar was entering her neighborhood. He glanced around taking in his surroundings as he strolled down the sidewalk. The buildings looked like cookie-cutter doubles of red bricked apartments with sets of gray concrete steps. Most of the windows on the bottom floors had bars firmly built into the building's structure and all the fire escapes were pulled up from the street's access signifying the crime rate in the area to be proliferating. Sylar detested these neighborhoods. It reminded him of walking to work at his father's shop, reminded him of his mother, of his old life, of being Gabriel.

He shook his head grimacing as if he'd tasted something fowl. He wasn't Gabriel anymore, he was Sylar! Sylar pushed all of those memories away, he was different now. He was special now. And he was about to become even more special he thought as a smirk played across his lips. 1425 NE Bruins Ave. He was here. He climbed the stairs finding her last name easily on the apartment's intercom and depressing the button for Apartment 3E.

"Hello?" the young woman queried.

Sylar responded in a cheerful tone, "Is this Miss Alice Monroe?"

The voice on the other end replied, "This is her; May I help you?"

Sylar smiled wickedly retorting to himself, "More than you know." He tuned his super sensitive hearing to the door lock as he used his telekinesis to move the tumblers into place and unlock the door.

He moved deftly down the hall to the stairwell leading up, and before long, he was standing in front of her door hands twitching in anticipation. What new power would he be acquiring this time? It was like Christmas because he never knew what he was going to get. Sylar gripped the door handle mentally willing Zane's powers to liquefy it. As it dissolved, he gently pushed the door open to peek inside.

The sound of clamoring dishes and the faucet running could be heard, and Sylar didn't miss a beat as he moved up behind her and whispered into her ear, "Hello Alice, you've got something of mine, and I've come to collect it."

The girl gasped dropping the plate in her hand to crash on the floor as she spun around in utter shock to face him. He enjoyed the rush of power he felt at her panicked expression as he thought, "Yes, you should be afraid." She tried to run from him, but he snagged her arm in one hand as he brought his other hand up to make his trademark incision across her forehead.

The girl started to scream grasping the arm that held her in place. Her hands began to glow a bright white and Sylar could feel a surge of energy blast through the very core of his being. He immediately released the girl as he was blown back across the kitchen his face contorting as his whole body was wracked with pain. Every joint hurt, every muscle burned like it was on fire. He stumbled awkwardly back as the girl, still screaming, ran out the door of her apartment.

Sylar collapsed onto the floor withering and screaming himself as he was unable to do anything more. After two minutes, of what seemed an eternity to Sylar the pain finally subsided. He was drained of all his energy weakened by the girl's attack.

He hadn't comprehended yet that his clothes were ten sizes to big as he wearily stood. The color drained from his face, and his eyes widened in horror at the fact he was just tall enough to be eye level with the kitchen's faucet. The realization of his predicament finally registered as he growled in dismay, "That bitch shrank me!"

His heart began to race as his face fell in shock. Through the reflection of the stainless steel he could see his face. She hadn't shrank him, she'd regressed him into a child. He backed away from the sink taken aback by this new found knowledge. Numbness washed over him as his back hit the refrigerator door and he slid down into a crouch. This was not good. Being shrank he could deal with; there were lots of short people in the world, but being regressed into the form of a child? That was going to cause problems on a lot of levels.

After the initial overwhelming shock had subsided; he sighed grateful of the fact that at least his mind was intact. Sylar stood and walked through the apartment and into the bathroom; he wanted to see himself, to in some way really verify that his previously conceived notion was true. The youthful face that stared back at him he recognized as himself at around age seven. He ran his hands up and down the sides of his cheeks still in awe before his super hearing brought him back to reality. He could hear people moving around down the hall to enter their apartment and knew he had to get out of here before the girl returned with the authorities or worse, came back and zapped him into a fetus!

Sylar ran into the girl's bedroom to search for something to wear. He had to settle on a plain white T-shirt and a pair of black booty shorts, which thankfully hung almost to his knees and had a tie to hold them on his hips. He would have to get new clothes ASAP! Even more important would be a pair of shoes he thought begrudgingly as he stared down at his bare feet. That would come later. Right now, he was starving! He raided the girl's refrigerator stuffing his face with half of a cold cut and pocketed an orange for later. On his way out, he noticed a crumpled up wad of ones and a five lying on the coffee table. He snagged the money up greedily and headed out the door.

Several hours later, Sylar had been walking aimlessly trying to decide what to do next. He looked up at the sky realizing that it was starting to get dark, and he would have to find someplace to hide. Being in the body of a seven year old was already irking him. He was tired, his feet hurt from walking on concrete with no shoes, and because he no longer had his jacket he was cold.

The frown he was already wearing contorted into a pout as an overwhelming feeling of helplessness washed over him. The feeling made anger well up in him; these familiar feelings brought him back once again to Gabriel, the man he'd left behind. He thought restlessly, "This isn't a big deal, I still have my powers right?" The conformation did little to ease his worry as he climbed into an apartment's segmented covey of bushes. He tried to sleep, but ended up lying there for an hour before his uncomfortably drove him to move on.

He dusted as much of the dirt he'd accumulated from lying on the ground off ,which wasn't much seeing as he was wearing a white T-shirt, and wandered into a diner to get out of the cold and sat at one of the tables waiting expectantly. The two waitresses in the diner exchanged looks before one came over to speak with him.

Her name tag read June, and she leaned down into a squat to get eye level with him as she asked in a Southern accent, "Hi there honey. Are you hungry?"

Sylar had turned to face her responding quickly, "I want a coffee with two creams."

The girl looked surprised at his response as she asked, "Where are your parents?"

Sylar was already in a bad mood, and this line of questioning was expected but also served to annoy him further as he spat, "I'm not a child. I've got a medical condition… like Emmanuel Lewis… the guy that played Webster?"

The waitress' eyes glazed over in uncertainty before some sort of recognition of what he was talking about dawned on her, and she smiled, "Oh yea! I've seen that show! That's got that cute little black kid in it don't it?"

Sylar ground out, "Yea. Now, can I please get my coffee?"

The waitress feeling that she had offended him shook her head quickly replying, "Oh sure thing sir."

She went back to the counter and poured him his coffee returning with a bowl of creams to place next to him as she added, "Sorry about the confusion… you just look… well you just look so young! But you probably get that all the time don't you?"

Sylar nodded, "Yea." He didn't look at her instead turning his attention to the TV hanging on the wall where the news was playing. He hoped the woman would take the hint that he wasn't in a conversational mood.

After getting no more than a one word response the woman's smile dropped slightly and she went back to her co-worker. He could hear them whispering about him from the other side of the diner, but it didn't matter, as long as he could stay here out of the cold for awhile. He pulled the wad of cash out of his pocket. Twelve dollars; it was enough to get an egg breakfast. That would let him stay least a few hours, and that would be late enough for him to find a suitable place to hide until morning.

He had ordered the breakfast when the waitress had come back to refill his coffee and while eating, he zoned out on the news. He had almost choked on his eggs when a blurb about congressman, Nathan Petrelli, came across the screen. The news was just talking about his political standing and his recent hiatus. That wasn't what Sylar had cared about. Peter had flashed across the screen in one of the highlight reels being noted as in the man's family, his brother to be precise.

A rush of adrenaline coursed through him as new ideas sprung to mind. Sylar turned waving the waitress over to him hurriedly.

June rushed over asking, "Is there something the matter with your food sweetheart?"

Sylar shook his head excitedly, "Oh no, no. The food's fine; do you happen to have a phone book?"

The night had been sleepless. He had hoped on the subway shortly after hurriedly finishing his breakfast and riding it until the seven O'clock work crowd had started to board to eat up time; it helped that it was warm and in the early hours secluded. He stared down at the receipt in his hand. Scrawled across it was an address to a Manhattan apartment for a Peter Petrelli.

Sylar beamed feeling quite clever. He would find Peter; he remembered his many powers, one of them being the power to become invisible. He licked his lips at the thought of having that power among all of Peter's powers. And with that ability alone, it wouldn't matter how old he looked, he could… get away with murder. He chuckled to himself as he exited the subway.

It didn't take more than an hour to find Peter's apartment, and he was reassured of the fact he actually lived at the residence when he saw Peter's name in the row of tenant's mailboxes. His energy renewed at the thought of taking the man's powers for his own, but the day before and the sleepless night were catching up to him, and after another hour of waiting, Sylar needed to rest a little. He sat inside the apartment's steps dozing slightly as he waited for Peter to come out.


	2. Unsettling

Author's note: Telepathic speaking indicated with stars

Author's note: Telepathic speaking indicated with single 'quotes'

Peter was startled by the loud sound of the shots, and turned in time to see Nathan falling to the floor. Peter caught him and eased him to the floor, not quite able to get a grip on what was happening. He yelled, "Nathan! Nathan!"

Getting no response from his brother, Peter grabbed Nathan's face to get him to look in his direction and yelled, "Nathan!" over the roaring crowd. Nathan's eyes were shut, and Peter could feel wet sticky blood on his hands under Nathan's back. He knew Nathan was going to die. But then he wondered if his blood would do the same thing for Nathan that Adam's blood had done. It was worth a try. Peter turned to Matt and said telepathically, 'I need to get in a room alone with him. He needs some of my blood.'

Matt nodded in understanding. Matt yelled at a couple of the security guards, "Pick him up. We need to get him out of the line of fire!"

A couple of men helped Peter pick up Nathan and carry him to the back room. When they were in the room, Peter thought to Matt, 'I need a needle!'

Matt thought back, 'I don't know where to get one. The ambulance will have one.'

'I don't know if we can wait that long!' Peter realized he had one in his medical bag that he took with him when he was doing hospice care. He looked back at Matt and thought 'I'll be right back. Don't let anyone move him, and spread the rumor that Nathan had a bullet proof vest on.'

'Why? He wanted to expose this not keep it secret!' Matt thought puzzled.

'And they shot him for it!!' Peter went out the back door and turned invisible, hoping Matt would do what he wanted. He opened a window, and flew out. He flew very quickly to his apartment, got the needle out of his bag, and flew back. The whole trip only took a couple of minutes.

While still invisible he put the needle in his own arm and drew some blood. He walked into the room, walked around the security guards who were trying to put direct pressure on the wounds and perform CPR at the same time. The needle stayed invisible while he held it, and no one noticed the small dot on Nathan's arm while Peter injected him with his blood.

While Peter was gone, Matt had gone out and told the press what Peter wanted them to believe. It took a few minutes, and by the time he was done the ambulance had arrived. He showed them back to the room where Nathan had been taken, only to find Nathan awake and trying to reassure everyone that he was fine. Matt's eyes caught Peter's. 'What happened?'

'My blood fixed him. The same way Adam's blood and probably Clair's blood would.'

'''''''''''''''''''

Peter stayed with Nathan for most of the night, the two of them talking about exposure, and threats to their life. After the incident, they both agreed to lay low for a few days. They needed to take some time and think things through before they did anything else. Peter caught a few hours of sleep at Nathan's house before heading home to his own apartment to get a change of clothes.

As he was walking up the stairs in the early morning light he saw a young boy sleeping on them. Trying not to scare the boy off Peter leaned down and touched his shoulder. He shook it gently and said, "Do you need some help?"

Sylar blinked sleepily, exhaustion weighing heavy on his whole being. He lifted his head and fought back the smile that threatened to erupt across his lips. He couldn't have been more elated to see Peter not only standing in his vicinity but being the one to confront him. After Peter asked him if he needed help, the smile he had tucked away came out as he thought 'I know lots of ways you can help me Peter' but he responded, "Really? You'll help me? I think I'm lost. I was with my parents on the subway, and I got off the train without them. I've been looking all over for them but I just can't find them. Can you help me find them?" He gave his best puppy dog eyes as he thought, ' I can already taste your powers; all I need is a little privacy and one slip of you letting your guard down. They're going to be all mine soon enough.'

Peter was shocked as he read the boy's thoughts. He'd mostly been reading them to make sure the kid wasn't a run away or lying to him, but he'd never expected something like this. There was only one person that knew him by name and wanted to steal his powers. Sylar. But Sylar was an adult, and this person in front of him looked to be about seven or eight. He looked closely and could see a resemblance. Peter shook his head once and hoped his shocked expression hadn't given him away. He thought he'd recovered from the shock pretty quickly. He needed time to think about his next move, and he needed advice. His brother needed time to rest and take care of covering up yesterday's events, so Peter's second choice was Matt.

Trying to play along Peter said, "Your folks must be worried sick. I have a friend down at the police station. I'm sure he'll know what to do to help."

Peter dug his car keys out of his pocket and said, "How about I give you a ride down to the station, and I'll stay with you until they find out where your folks are."

Sylar considered his options for a moment, 'Going to a police station isn't going to get me alone with him, but if I don't go he's going to get suspicious. I have to just play along, be patient. It's not like the police are going to find my 'parents' anyway. If worse comes to worse, they'll stick me in some orphanage, and I'll have to start back at square one. At least I'll have some shoes. My feet are killing me!' Sylar grimaced feeling the now blisters flaring from the soles of his feet as he stood to follow Peter. A ride in a warm car on a comfortable seat sounded so good right now. He stared up at Peter crinkling his eyebrows in uncertainty as he asked warily, "You're not going to just leave me there are you?"

Peter looked down at Sylar and saw that he was walking very carefully and slowly. Peter's first thought was to pick the kid up the same way he would one of his nephews, but as soon as the thought popped into his head, he pushed it away thinking that Sylar deserved whatever discomfort he was experiencing. He also thought that if he himself had been turned into a kid, he'd hate being picked up. So instead he slowed down his pace to match Sylar's.

He answered him, "No I'm not going to leave you there. I'll stay with you until something gets resolved." As they walked Peter thought to himself that he couldn't let Sylar out of his sight because he might try to kill someone else.

When they got to the car he unlocked the doors and got into the driver's seat waiting for Sylar to get in as well.

Sylar followed suit mentally taking in the interior of Peter's Nissan as he climbed in. He said nothing only examining every move Peter made in pure curiosity. Even though Sylar wouldn't admit it, the man fascinated and infuriated him. He sighed tiredly and leaned back in the chair thinking, 'I can't wait to see what makes you tick Peter. You won't be more special than me; and once I get your powers, I'm going to go back to Queens and take that little bitch's powers that did this to me.'

As Peter drove towards the station he thought back to the times he'd fought with Sylar, while still keeping his mind open to Sylar's thoughts. He wanted to make sure he had a list of all Sylar's abilities in mind so that he wouldn't be taken by surprise. 'We can both use telekinesis and control radiation. And I hate to admit it, but last time we fought he had better control over both abilities. I wonder if his powers are still as strong now that he's small.'

Peter listened to Sylar and heard him thinking about the person who had turned him into a child. He'd have to find out if Mohinder had a guess as to who that was. His mind turned back to the problem at hand. 'We both have Isaac's power to draw the future. That could be a problem. Better not let him have anything to write with. Mohinder said that Sylar has enhanced hearing, and he can liquefy things as well.'

Peter pulled up to the station and parked. He turned to Sylar and said, "We're here. Ready to go in and tell my friend how you got separated from your folks?"

Sylar nodded, "Yea." He thought to himself, 'Let's get this over with' as the two exited Peter's car and gradually made their way towards the police station.


	3. Playing Dumb

Peter went in making sure Sylar was next to him the whole time

Peter went in making sure Sylar was next to him the whole time. He hoped that Matt was in already today. Last night after they'd gotten Nathan home, Matt received a call from Mohinder asking him to come home and help him with Molly. He hadn't gone into details, but as he was leaving, Matt had told Peter and Nathan that Sylar was in town and to be careful.

Peter went to the front desk and said, "I need to see Matt Parkman please."

The front desk agent told Peter and Sylar to take a seat while he called Matt. Peter sat down and waited, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Matt.

Sylar sat next to him silently observing Peter a moment before bringing his attention to the surrounding room to take in all possible exits in case something were to go down. After mentally taking note of the lobby, Sylar glanced back up to Peter with a quizzical expression as he wondered, 'Parkman…' His eidetic memory filtered back to Kirby Plaza, 'His name was on the policeman's badge that I slung his own bullets back into his chest. If it's the same man, I wonder if he has powers to?'

He wanted to strike up a conversation with the man in front of him, but wasn't sure what to say to him. He realized that since the car ride was so short, the two hadn't really spoken since they first met. He hadn't even asked Peter his name. No better time than the present he thought, "What's your name?" he queried seeing where the conversation would lead.

Listening to Sylar's thoughts, Peter was relieved to hear that Sylar didn't know what Matt's ability was, because if he did, the plan would never work.

Even though Peter had plenty of reasons to hate Sylar, reasons to kill him even, he found himself wanting to find out what made Sylar tick. He answered, "My name is Peter. What's yours?"

Sylar opened his mouth to speak, "Sa… Sam. My Name is Sam." 'Almost slipped that one up' he thought before returning his attention back to the conversation, "Thanks for stopping to help me." Sylar was genuinely happy Peter had wanted to help him verses just calling a cop to collect him.

Peter never would have guessed he'd hear that from the person who wanted to kill him. "Sure Sam. I'm glad I'm the one who found you."

The agent at the front desk called out to Peter and said, "Officer Parkman said he can see you now. I can show you back to his desk."

Peter stood and said, "I know the way thanks."

He turned back to Sylar. He didn't really want to leave him out here alone, because he could try to hurt someone or run off. But he also didn't want Matt's face to give it away when he told him what was really going on. Peter said, "Hey Sam, do you think you can sit here and wait for me for just a few minutes?"

Sylar had rose when Peter had and hesitated a worried look crossing his features when Peter had asked him to stay, but he relaxed thinking, 'I don't have to go with him; I'll just tune in my hearing to find out what they say about me.' He smiled widely as he responded, "Sure. I can stay here."

"Thanks." Peter walked back towards Matt's desk, thinking about what he was going to say out loud to make sure Sylar stayed.

Matt saw Peter and said with surprise, "Hi Peter, what are you doing here today? Is Nathan okay?"

Peter reassured him, "Nathan's fine. I'm here because I need your help with something else." He thought 'Play along, someone is listening in.'

Matt nodded, "Okay, what can I help you with." Then thought, 'what's really going on?'

"When I went home this morning I found a little boy sleeping on the steps to my apartment. He told me he got separated from his folks, so I convinced him to come here with me." Peter thought to Matt, 'I need time to tell you. Pretend to fill out paperwork.'

As an afterthought Peter said out loud, "Though I think he may be a runaway, because he doesn't have any shoes, and his clothes don't look like his own." He could tell Sylar had been suspicious about being left out front. That should help explain it.

Matt said, "Have a seat while I fill out this preliminary paperwork, and then we can check the missing children's report."

Peter sat and Matt picked up a pencil and scratch paper. He started scribbling on the page and looked at Peter. He thought 'Tell me.'

Peter thought, 'The boy is out in the lobby, but the boy isn't lost, the boy is Sylar.'

Matt stopped writing and looked in the direction of the lobby, which he couldn't see from his desk. He looked back at Peter and thought, 'What are you talking about?'

'One of the people like us must have the ability to make people younger. I read his thoughts, so I know it's Sylar, but he's not an adult anymore, he's seven or eight with all his adult thoughts still intact.'

Matt said, 'Does he still have his powers?'

'He hasn't demonstrated them, but he thinks he does.'

Matt realized Sylar was the person listening in, and continued to scribble on the page. He said, "Can you give me a name and general description of the child?"

Peter said, "He said his name is Sam. He's got dark brown hair, white skin, and he looks like he's seven or eight."

Matt thought back to Peter, 'Having him younger is the perfect opportunity to catch him. Do we know if it's permanent?'

'I don't know. But he knows who did it to him, so we could find her and ask once we figure out what we're going to do with him.'

Matt thought, 'I'll pretend to go check the missing person's report, and then I'll go to a soundproof room and call Mohinder. Come up with a plan and then I'll let you know what's going on.'

Peter nodded in understanding. Matt stood up and said, "Let's go ask him for a last name, and then I'll check the missing children's report."

Peter stood as well and headed out towards the lobby.

Sylar listened intently to the mock conversation giving a small chuckle at Peter's Runaway theory as he thought, 'Yea, have fun looking up that lead.' When he heard that they were coming to ask him for a last name, Sylar hastily looked around the room honing in on a office supply holder where it had several items. He saw a pack of post it's and decided that Post was his new last name.

He whipped back around to face the two men before they came around the corner unable to keep the smile from creeping across his face, 'This is going to be a piece of cake; maybe I can even figure out during our little interview whether tubby there has any powers to.' Sylar mused.

Matt was too amazed at the sight of a child Sylar to be offended by the tubby remark. He had a hard time trying to keep the shock off his face, but attempted it. He tried to bring up the reassuring smile he would give to most kids he saw on the job who were in difficult situations.

Peter said, "Sam, this is Officer Parkman. Matt, this here is Sam."

Matt squatted down to be on eye level with Sylar, wanting to get a good look at him. He said, "Hi Sam, it's nice to meet you. I just need to ask you a few questions."

Sylar hated the fact that Matt had to bent down to get eye level with him; it made him feel somehow inferior, but he tried not to show the distress these feelings caused. To make himself feel better, he sat up straight so that he was now in fact looking down at Matt. He smirked satisfyingly as he nodded his head and replied, "Okay. What do you want to know Officer Parkman?"

Matt asked, "Could you tell me how you got separated from your folks?"

Sylar had thought out this story long before he'd met up with Peter, and he had it pretty well detailed. He lied, "We were coming in town to visit my Grandma. When we arrived on the bus at the… Port Authority? Yea… that's where it was. We got on the subway to get to grandma's house. We were riding for awhile… and I got bored. The doors kept opening, and I just wanted to see what was on the other side. I went outside, and the doors closed again, and the train left me." He did his best to sound the part of a lost child pretty sure any adult would buy the story coming out of a seven year olds mouth.

Matt was impressed with how sincere Sylar sounded. If he didn't know who it was, he would have believed the lie. He nodded and said, "Okay, that's good. Now I need to know your age, your full name, and your parent's names."

Sylar sighed thinking, 'This is going to take forever! I'm so tired…' The lack of sleep along with the fact he could feel this body growing and using up more energy than he had been accustomed to left him feeling drained. He answered, "seven; Sam Post… and," he hadn't thought of parent names, but decided it would be okay just to use his own parents first names, "Virginia and Timothy." The mention of his mother's name brought a pang of guilt as he thought, 'I never meant to hurt you mom, but I'm going to make you proud now. You'll see."

Matt shared a look with Peter as he stood up. He thought 'He's tired. That's good; he'll be more likely to let his guard down. I'll go call Mohinder.'

Matt looked down at Sylar and said, "Okay Sam. Thanks for the information. I'll go see what I can find out."

Peter said, "Thanks Matt." and sat down next to Sylar to wait. A few seconds later Peter realized he hadn't had breakfast yet, and he was hungry. He looked over at Sylar and said, "I'm gonna go get something to eat out of the vending machine while we wait. You want something?"

Sylar's stomach growled in response to Peter's query as he nodded his agreement and responded, "I'm starving!"

Peter walked over to the vending machine and got a couple of bucks out of his wallet. "What do you want?"


	4. The Plan

Matt had made it to a soundproof room and dialed Mohinder's cell phone

Matt had made it to a soundproof room and dialed Mohinder's cell phone. As soon as Mohinder answered Matt said, "Hey it's Matt. I know you've got your hands full today, but I need your help."

Mohinder had just left the house after the sitter had arrived. He had planned to stop by the lab and run a few diagnostic tests on a few new samples of DNA the company had brought in. He replied, "Certainly, what can I help you with?"

"Peter is here, and he brought Sylar with him, except Sylar isn't an adult anymore, somehow he's been changed into a seven year old."

There was a small pause on the other end before Mohinder found his voice, "He's what? Back up a minute. Sylar is a child? How can that be? Have you contained him?"

"Pete said someone like us changed him into a child. I've seen him with my own eyes, and I've read his thoughts. It's Sylar, just in a younger body. We haven't contained him, because he doesn't know that we know who he is. He hasn't used his powers yet, but that's only because he thinks he has us fooled. He's pretending to be a lost child, and we're playing along. I thought you would have some ideas on how to contain him without him using his powers."

Mohinder clucked his tongue as he thought aloud, "Okay I think I've got a plan, I'm almost to the lab right now; I think if we administer a stronger dose of the modified Shanti virus we can strip him of all his powers. The modified serum hasn't been tested on a superhuman yet, so it may kill him, but I'm more than willing to take that chance. The only problem is that the virus won't have an immediate effect. It is quick, but not quick enough for Sylar not to retaliate. We have to figure out a way to inject him with the serum before he can access his powers."

Matt was willing to take the chance that the serum might kill Sylar too. He'd killed Molly's parents along with numerous other people. He said, "He was thinking that he was tired, so it might be fairly easy to take him unaware. I have tranquilizer guns here at the station. I could keep him here for a while, wear him out even more, and then let Peter take him somewhere. I can shoot him with the tranquilizer, and then once he's out, you can give him the serum."

Mohinder pulled into the parking garage across the street from his lab as he responded, "That sounds good. I can be ready and available to meet you in about an hour and a half, meet me at the Star Bucks at 17th between 8th and 9th Ave. There are several back streets in that area since it's the warehouse district, there's also a pizza joint down the road you can have Peter distract Sylar by taking him there, so we can meet and set up an ambush."

"Okay, that sounds like a good plan. I'll see you at Star Bucks." Matt hung up, and walked out of the soundproof room. He went to his desk and did check on the missing children's report in case Sylar was listening in.

Mentally he called out to Peter, hoping he'd be able to hear him even though they weren't in the same room. 'Peter can you hear me?'

Peter was sitting next to Sylar, eating some chips, and drinking some bad coffee. 'I can hear you.'

'Mohinder has a serum that he thinks will inhibit all of Sylar's powers. We plan to set up an ambush, shoot him with a tranquilizer to put him to sleep, and then inject the serum. Are you up for that plan?'

'It sounds like it's a good plan. Better then anything I've been able to come up with.'

'Good. I'm going to come and work with Sylar for a little while to give Mohinder a chance to get the serum and meet us. Then when we can't find 'Sam's' parents, I'll let you take him out to lunch at a pizza place near 17th. We'll set up the ambush outside of it.'

Peter poured the chip crumbs that were in the bottom of his bag into his hand, and tossed them all in his mouth at once. 'Sounds good.' He looked over at Sylar and said, "Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but my potato chips tasted pretty good. How was yours?"

Sylar smiled responding, "Good. Thanks." His smile faded as he looked away and thought, 'I wish you wouldn't be so nice to me. It's going to make feel bad to take your powers from you later.'

Peter was kind of amazed to hear that Sylar would feel bad about anything. First about his mom, and now about Peter himself. And for the first time Peter wondered exactly how evil Sylar really was. Before he had much time to think that over Matt came out to the lobby.

He said, "There weren't any reports for missing children matching your description Sam."

Peter wasn't actually surprised about this, but pretended to be. He looked up at Matt and said, "Are you sure? I mean his parents must have told the police that Sam was missing."

"I'm positive. No reports of kids gone missing from the subway at all."

Peter and Matt both looked at Sylar, wondering what he'd say about it.

Sylar acted surprised as well as he responded, "They've got to be looking for me right? Maybe they haven't noticed I'm missing yet," he stated in mock worry as he thought, 'Yea, that sounds like a response a seven year old would think.' He peered back up between the two adults to gauge their reaction to his answer.

Peter and Matt looked at each other for a second and Matt thought, 'I wouldn't buy it if it were a real case.'

'I wouldn't either' Peter agreed. He looked back at Sylar and said gently, "Sam, if there's anything that maybe you're not telling us, I want you to know it's okay to be honest with us."

Sylar's brow crinkled in dismay he had to think of something more convincing. He exchanged glances back and forth before an idea struck him. He lowered his eyes and mumbled, "Maybe they aren't looking for me. There always too busy getting drunk to care." 'I hope this spin on my story is believable; it'd work on one of those Lifetime Channel movies,' he thought nervously. He was too close now to have his plans fall apart.

Peter and Matt exchanged another look, and Peter thought, 'Ask to talk to me on the other side of the lobby.'

Matt said, "Could I speak to you for a minute Peter?"

Peter smiled at Sylar and said, "I'll be right back."

He got up and the two men walked to the other side of the lobby where Sylar could see them, but a normal person wouldn't be able to hear them unless they were yelling. Peter said, "You think he's a runaway?"

"Probably."

"How bad do things have to be at home to run away at seven?"

Matt stole a glance over at Sylar and said, "Pretty bad."

"Look it may take you a while to find out what really happened with the kid. I'm a certified hospice care nurse, and I'm also registered to take in foster kids thanks to my brother's campaign manager. So how about when we're done here, you let me take him home until we find other arrangements."

"Are you sure?"

Peter looked back at Sylar and said, "Yeah."

Matt thought, 'That sounded convincing to me. Let's see if he bought it.'

They walked back to Sylar and Matt said, "Hey Sam, I'm going to take you back to my desk and ask you a few more questions okay?"

Sylar had to fight back the smile as he overheard their conversation. As the two approached he bit his lip to keep himself from looking happy as he thought, 'Yes! I knew my plan would work! Now it'll only be a matter of time before I no longer have to worry about looking like a child.' He listened to Matt's question, and nodded his agreement and followed Matt back to his desk.

Sylar had to fight back the smile as he overheard their conversation. As the two approached him, he bit his lip to keep himself from looking happy as he thought, 'Yes! I knew my plan would work! Now it'll only be a matter of time before I no longer have to worry about looking like a child.' He listened to Matt's question, and nodded his agreement following Matt back to his desk.

As soon as they got to Matt's desk he had Sylar sit down, and Matt pulled out a stack of paperwork to fill out. He looked at Sylar with a smile and said, "After we've gotten this taken care of, then I'll have you work with our sketch artist, to come up with a picture of your folks."

Sylar answered Matt's questions his boredom level growing as an hour of questions passed. He mentally drifted off and caught himself using his telekinesis on one of the pencils in Matt's pen holder cup. He snapped back to attention but not before the cup tipped over spilling the contents all over Matt's desk. Sylar hoped Matt hadn't noticed, but his reaction would be a good tell tale sign as to whether Matt was familiar with powers and be suspicious or if he'd merely chalk the occurrence up to a random act of gravity.

While Matt was busy with Sylar, Peter had gone to the lobby and asked the person at the front desk about a lost and found, explaining that the boy who was with him didn't have any shoes. He was soon shown to an area with a large pile of lost and found items that had been left behind. He found a pair of sneakers that didn't look too big and took them.

Matt saw the pens spill all over the desk and immediately gave Sylar a scrutinizing look, before putting the pens back in the cup and setting it upright. Matt thought to himself, 'I guess that means his powers are working.' before continuing with the questions as if nothing had happened.

Sylar grinned wickedly as he thought, 'Good, he doesn't suspect anything.' After another five minutes of Matt's questions, Sylar sighed audibly as he lay his head on his folded arms and kicked his feet back and forth hitting the bottom of his chair's seat to let Matt know he was tired of filling out paperwork as he thought, 'Gods how many more questions is he going to ask me? I might slice my own head open just to get this over with.'

Peter arrived and heard Sylar's thoughts. He went up to them and said, "Hey Sam, I found some shoes that might fit you. Wanna try them on?"

Peter thought to Matt, 'Are we about ready to go?'

Matt thought back, 'We still have half an hour to go, but I can have him work with the sketch artists now.'


	5. Placement

Sylar's face brightened as he saw Peter and he whined internally, 'Please get me the hell out of here

Sylar's face brightened as he saw Peter and he whined internally, 'Please get me the hell out of here!' When Peter presented him with the shoes; he smiled widely as he thanked him and put them on. They were almost the perfect size running about a half size to big, but Sylar was content just to have something on his feet. He gave Peter an imploring look as he questioned, "Are we done?"

Peter shook his head. "Sorry Sam, I know it's boring, but this will help get you reunited with your parents."

He turned to Matt and asked, "How much longer until you're done?"

Matt shuffled his papers and stood. "I'm done with Sam for now, but he needs to see the station's sketch artist, and describe his parents to her, so we have a picture. If you two want to wait here, I'll go get her."

Peter nodded while Matt walked off. Peter turned to Sylar and said, "Hey Sam, I wanted a chance to talk to you alone anyway. I spoke with Officer Parkman, and he said that if we can't find your parents today, then you can come home with me and stay at my apartment until we find your folks. If you want to that is."

Sylar positively beamed, "Yea? I'd love to come stay with you!" He gave Peter a wide grin as he thought, 'My plan couldn't have worked out more perfectly; I didn't even have to ask him if I could stay with him!' He looked at the blinking wall clock above the entryway; it was almost 11AM. He rubbed his burning eyes looking back to Peter with a pout, "How much longer do we have to stay here? Can't we just go to your house now and come back here tomorrow?"

Peter shook his head, "Sorry, you still have to work with the sketch artist. But how about after we're done here I take you out to get some Pizza for lunch on the way home? I'm not much of a cook."

Sylar nodded his head in agreement sullenly. His stomach growled as he thought, 'Pizza actually sounds very good right now.' Matt came around the corner with a woman in her mid thirties; she smiled warmly down at Sylar and introduced herself, "Hi Sam, I'm Barbra, and Officer Parkman here has told me you're going to come with me to do a couple of sketches."

Sylar nodded in agreement, and Barbra held out her hand for him to take. Sylar hesitated momentarily but decided even though he didn't want to hold the woman's hand, if he did just go with the flow, he'd move this whole process along a little faster. He took a hold of the woman's hand glancing back at Peter and Matt circumspectly as the woman started to lead him away.

Peter watched Sylar walk away and then thought to Matt, 'You need to go in and stay with them. Make sure Sylar doesn't get the chance to draw on anything. He may be able to draw us ambushing him.'

Matt nodded in agreement, gathered some paperwork, and headed off with Sylar and Barbra.

Peter thought about it for a second, and realized it might not be a bad idea to see a glimpse of the future right about now. If Sylar was going to find out that he'd been tricked, and end up hurting them, Peter wanted to know about it ahead of time. He grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil off Matt's desk, and went into the men's room.

Peter found a stall, shut and locked the door, held the paper up on the stall wall, and let himself go into the trance like state that allowed him to draw the future. His eyes turned white and his hand moved across the paper without his awareness. Ten minutes later his eyes went back to normal, and he looked at the picture in front of him. He stared at it for a good two minutes, trying to understand why in the world he would have drawn that, and how the event shown could possibly be in his future. Shaking his head, he ripped it into little pieces and flushed it down the toilet, not wanting Sylar to accidentally see it.

As he was walking out of the men's room he thought to himself, 'Well at least that means the serum should work.'

He sat at Matt's desk and waited for Sylar to finish with the sketch artist.

The artist was fast, and Sylar was fascinated by her talent to draw the details he described. He wanted to pick up a pencil himself and see what scene would lie before him, but now was not the time especially not with Matt sitting right across from him. 'Why did you have to come.' Sylar thought angrily, 'I hate this! I can't wait until I can stop playing these stupid games. By tomorrow this time I'll have Peter's invisibility, and I'll no longer have to worry about being stuck in this child body.'

It took about ten minutes per picture, and by the time Barbra was finished Sylar was impressed to see his Uncle Jacob and his across the way neighbor, Natalie. He smiled at the likenesses thinking, 'The perfect pair of never to be found parents.'

He glanced between each of the drawings and back to Barbra as he commented with a wide smile, "Your drawings look just like them!"

Barbra smiled back responding, "Well then I guess I've done my job sweetheart." She rose to her feet and ruffled his hair playfully before adding, "Don't you worry now; everything is going to be okay. I'm going to take these pictures downstairs to have them run through a database, and in the mean time, Officer Matt here is going to take good care of you." Barbra gave Sylar a small squeeze on the shoulder and a warm smile as she gathered her supplies to leave.

Sylar's grin widened as he turned to Matt and thought, 'Finally! Now, we can get the hell out of here!'

Matt found it disconcerting and kind of creepy to hear the thoughts of a serial killer coming out of a smiling little kid. He would be happy to have Sylar contained and away from him. He stood and led him out to Peter who was waiting. Peter smiled at both of them and then said to Matt, "All done?"

Matt nodded and said, "Did you fill out the paperwork for taking Sam home while we were gone?"

"Yep, it's all done."

"Well then I guess you two are free to go for now. I'll need you to call me tomorrow morning to check in, and of course if we hear from Sam's parents, we'll let you know right away."

Peter held out his hand to shake and said, "Okay. Thanks for all your help today Matt." Then he thought, 'I'll be waiting at the pizza place until I hear from you.'

Matt shook and said, "No problem." Then thought, 'I'll let you know where we're doing it as soon as I talk to Mohinder.'

Peter turned to Sylar and said, "Ready to go?"

Sylar brightened eyes gleaming as he thought, 'I've been ready to go since before we got here!' He replied excitedly, "Yes!" and grabbed Peter's hand to help move him towards the door as he added, "Goodbye Officer Matt!"

Matt watched the two of them leave, and then told his supervisor he was checking on a lead before leaving. On his way out he signed out a tranquilizer gun. The tranquilizer guns were actually there to be used on wild animals, but Matt thought that Sylar fit the bill. He just had to use the lowest dose darts they had, which were meant for dogs, and hope it didn't kill him. Once he had the gun he headed out to his car and headed to Starbucks to meet Mohinder.

When Peter felt Sylar take his hand and pull him towards the door, he couldn't help but think it felt somehow 'normal'. It was very much like what both of his nephews would do in the same situation. He let himself be led to the car, and drove the two of them to the pizza place. It didn't take very long to get there, and as Peter was getting out of his car he said, "What do you like on your pizza?"

Sylar beamed clearly happy to be out of the police station as he told Peter, "Pepperoni and sausage please!" The car trip was only about five minutes, and by the time they had arrived at the pizza joint, Sylar's stomach was growling in protest.

Mohinder had arrived, ordered a latte, and sat in the back corner awaiting Matt's arrival. His nerves were shot since he'd spent the past hour and a half going over scenarios of the soon to be conflict with Sylar. The man was an animal, and although not in Mohinder's nature, he would just as soon kill Sylar for good then just try and put a leash on him. What if the serum didn't work? What if Sylar was able to get the upper hand? All these worries had plagued him since Matt's previous call. He was staring off distantly thinking over their plan when he spotted Matt heading towards him. He quickly rose to greet him, "Matt, it's good to see you; I was about to call."

Matt nodded. "It's good to see you too." He looked around at all the people and said, "Should we talk outside?"

Once they were outside with no one close enough to hear them, Matt said, "I have the tranquilizer gun in the car, and Peter should be at the pizza place with Sylar by now. Do you have the serum?"

Mohinder replied, "Yes, I've got it right here," he lifted his hand out of his jacket pocket to reveal a capped syringe filled with a yellowish liquid, "Let's go find Peter's car so we can get in position."


	6. Ambush

The pizza place Peter had brought Sylar to was one of those famous New York style buy by the slice joints, and to Sylar's pleasure the slices were ready made

The pizza place Peter had brought Sylar to was one of those famous New York style buy by the slice joints, and to Sylar's pleasure the slices were ready made. His mouth watered as he followed Peter to their table and crawled into the booth.

Matt followed Mohinder and once they found Peter's car, they found an ally to the side of it. Matt scoped it out, and pointed to the building across the ally from the Pizza place. He said, "I'll go up to that fire escape with the tranquilizer gun. You stay behind that dumpster until Peter has a chance to make sure Sylar's really out."

As they were eating, Peter thought about Sylar. He seemed like a normal happy kid, and if he couldn't read his thoughts, he'd certainly be fooled. He took a bite of his pizza and said, "What do you like to do for fun Sam?"

Sylar paused in mid bite unsure of what to say. He looked down at his pizza and shrugged noncommittally before taking the bite and chewing slowly. As he chewed he thought, 'I don't know anymore. Playing with new powers and becoming better than I could ever be before.' But he couldn't say that, so he thought about his other interests before looking back up at Peter and responding, "I like to read… and I like to learn how things work."

Peter could understand playing with new powers. He'd been working on controlling his new powers since receiving each one. "Learning how things work huh? I've always been more interested in how people work then things. But come to think of it, when I was about your age I took apart one of our VCRs to try and find out how it worked. My mom didn't see it as a useful activity and sent me to my room for an hour. Do your parents help you find out how things work?"

Sylar found it hard to respond to these personal questions as he answered, "My dad did… I mean he does. He builds …stuff" Sylar frowned as he cursed himself. He had had to stop himself twice from giving Peter too much information. The food filling his stomach was close to a sedative with the level of exhaustion he was currently feeling, and these types of questions unnerved him. He didn't like to think of his parents, they reminded him that he was Gabriel before Sylar, and Gabriel had a conscience. Gabriel felt guilt. Sylar changed the subject, "What do you like to do for fun?"

Peter caught snippets of Sylar's indirect thoughts of guilt, and not wanting to feel it. Peter thought about the question for a second and then said, "Well I guess the truth of it, is that I like to help people. I mean I'm a nurse, so it's my job to help people, but even when I'm not at work, I enjoy life most when I'm helping others. Though I do have to admit to enjoying reading the occasional comic, and going to the movies."

Sylar smiled at this, "A nurse huh? I thought only girls were nurses," he teased. He felt a pang of guilt his smile faltering as he turned to stare off out the store's window and thought about how nice Peter was, 'How can I kill this guy? He's like a real hero. No. I have to, even if I don't want to, otherwise I'll be stuck like this! Gods, why couldn't you just be a jerk Peter? You'd make this so much easier if you were.'

Peter had meant what he said. He did like to help people. And after reading Sylar's thoughts he couldn't stop himself from thinking that he could help him too. Peter knew there were crazy people out there who just didn't know the difference between right and wrong. But Sylar obviously did know. And that meant there was hope. Peter chuckled at the nurse comment. He'd heard that plenty of times, and gave his standard easygoing answer, "Most of them are. I guess that makes me special."

Sylar's eyebrows knitted in frustration as he growled inwardly, 'I want to be the only special one!' He turned away from the window to glare at Peter before getting control of his anger as he mumbled tiredly, "Can we go to your house now?"

Peter hadn't heard from Matt yet, so he looked down at his half eaten pizza and said, "Sure, as soon as I finish this." Then he called out mentally, 'Matt? Are you here?'

Matt had just gotten into position on the fire escape when he heard Peter's voice in his head. 'Yes. We're both in the ally to the side of the Pizza place. I'm on the fire escape to the left, about one story up with the tranquilizer, and Mohinder is hiding behind a dumpster on the right. We're as ready as we'll ever be.'

Peter thought, 'Okay. We'll be out in a minute. If you don't get him with the first shot, you and Mohinder stay out of the way while I try to contain him.'

Matt gestured to Mohinder to let him know Peter was coming. Peter looked at Sylar and said, "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."

Sylar grinned at Peter and slid out of his seat as he grabbed up his paper plate and threw it in the garbage. He thought to himself as they left, 'I'll have to wait till he's asleep before I can take him. I think I will need to get some sleep first. It's going to be dangerous enough trying to take him without being out of it.'

Peter was wracking his brain, trying to come up with some kind of reason to go into the ally. The car was on the other side of the building. But then he was inspired. As soon as they stepped out of the building Peter put a hand on Sylar's shoulder and said, "Sam, if you're going to be staying with me for a while, I think there's something you should know. Can you keep a secret?"

Sylar's eyes widened in curiosity as he nodded yes, "I can keep a secret."

Peter looked around to see if anyone was watching, and then pointed to the ally. He said, "Let's go over there where no one can see. I want to show you something I can do. I don't want you to get scared later if you see something... unnatural."

Sylar's grin grew impossibly big as he thought, 'You're going to show me your powers aren't you Peter? I'd love to see what you can do, or should I say what I'll be able to do.' He responded excitedly as they strode over to the alleyway, "I don't get scared. Show me! What can you do!"

Peter thought to Matt, 'I'll be distracting him with a demonstration of my powers. I'll try to get his back to you.'

Matt thought back, 'Okay.'

After they were halfway down the alleyway, Peter made a show of looking around, and once he was sure Sylar was in position, Peter held out his hand in front of Sylar's face to make sure he was looking at it and said, "I can be invisible when I want to." Peter's entire body disappeared.

Matt aimed the tranquilizer at Sylar the second he saw him. And as soon as he saw Peter disappear, he pulled the trigger. Matt had always been a pretty good shot, and the small dart hit in the center of Sylar's right butt cheek.

Sylar had been watching Peter with a greedy grin plastered across his face when he felt the sudden pain. His eyes bulged as he yelled out, "Ahh!" He spun around quickly snatching at the area the pain erupted from. He pulled the dart away from his body looking at it in awe struck horror before stumbling backwards onto the ground.

His head felt like he was under water and his vision blurred as he blinked furiously trying to fight the overwhelming darkness that threatened to over take him. The last thing he saw was Mohinder's face leaning down over him as he said, "Nighty night Sylar."

As Sylar faded out of consciousness Mohinder pulled the needle out of his pocket and injected the serum into his arm. He looked up at Matt as he ran down to meet them and stated, "We need to get him out of here."

Matt said, "My car's just down the block."

Peter, who had reappeared while Mohinder was injecting Sylar, shook his head and said, "If he wakes up and the serum didn't work, I'm the only one who has a chance of fighting him. He needs to stay with me."

Peter leaned down and picked Sylar up, surprised at how light he was. "I'll take him in my car. Where are we going?"

Mohinder let out a deep breath, "We can't take him back to the lab, it's too risky, and Molly is at home with the sitter, so our place is out of the question. Unless you two have a better idea, Peter's place is the best I can think of." Mohinder saw how carefully Peter had picked Sylar up. It was unnerving to see Sylar sleeping so peacefully as a child. He looked so innocent and vulnerable. He leveled his eyes on Peter warning him, "If the serum doesn't work, you realize you'll have to kill him don't you Peter?"

Peter's grip on Sylar got a little tighter. He wasn't ready to commit to that. There had been times when Peter was ready and willing to kill Sylar. This wasn't one of them. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'll meet you at my apartment."


	7. Arrangements

Peter carried Sylar to his car and lay him down in the back seat, being sure to buckle him in. The drive to his apartment didn't take very long. He pulled up, got Sylar out, and carried him up the stairs to his apartment. Once he was in, he put Sylar down on the couch. A few seconds later Matt and Mohinder showed up. Matt looked at Mohinder and said, "Should we tie him up? Will that even matter if the serum didn't work?"

Mohinder wore a scowl as he responded to Matt's query, "I don't know if it will help, but it certainly can't hurt. How much time do we have before that tranquilizer wears off?"

Matt said, "Well for a large dog it would take somewhere between half an hour to an hour, so I'd say about the same for him."

Matt turned to Peter and said, "Do you have any rope?"

"I have some in my car." Peter went back down to his car to get the rope out of his trunk that he'd previously used to tie things to the top of his car.

While Peter was gone Matt asked Mohinder, "Does the serum work right away, or does it take time to get into the system? Will an hour be enough time?"

Mohinder shook his head in frustration as he responded, "It's a new strain than what the company designed originally. If it works at all, it should work immediately. Now all we can do is wait and hope for a positive result."

Peter came back with the rope, cut a small strip, and used it to tie Sylar's hands behind his back. He cut another strip and tied Sylar's ankles together, being careful not to make the ropes too tight. There was still plenty of rope left over, so Peter looped it around and under the couch, and tied both ends of that to the rope that held Sylar's hands together. Sylar was lying on his side, but could sit up comfortably with the ropes the way they were. He just wouldn't be able to get up off the couch. Once Peter was done, he turned to Matt and Mohinder and said, "Anything else we should do to get ready?"

Mohinder replied, "We need to discuss what we plan to do with him. Even if his powers have been effectively subdued, we can't just let him go. He's a major threat even now. Maybe turning him over to the company is are only real option since turning him over to the police will be a waste of time. No one in the justice department is going to believe he's Sylar, and we all know the manipulative little jerk will just play innocent until he's able to get away."

Matt nodded in agreement. "I agree. If we send him to the company, he'll be off our hands, he won't be able to hurt anyone else, and they have a long list of special people on their payroll who can help contain him. Maybe even wipe his memories, so he won't be able to remember who he is or what he's done."

Peter said with conviction. "No. We can't send him to the company. If that's our only option, it would be more merciful to kill him. I spent some time there voluntarily, and that was bad enough. You're right; they probably would remove chunks of his memory. Being without his memory won't make him better; it will make him more crazy. But my guess is that they'll try to use him as their own personal assassin. The company decides they don't like one of us, and Sylar here gets to track us down, kill us, and get our powers. The company isn't an option."

Mohinder crossed his arms in frustration retorting, "Then what is an option Peter? What? Are you going to keep him? Matt and I certainly aren't going to bring him home with us!"

Nodding in agreement Matt agreed, "Molly's already been traumatized by Sylar more then once. I don't want him anywhere near her."

Peter looked at Sylar lying there, and looking so peaceful. He knew that there was good in him still, and he wasn't willing to give up on that. No matter what he'd done in life, Nathan had never given up on him, even when his parents had. Peter nodded and said, "Yes. I'll keep him."

Mohinder was surprised by this admission as he stated warily, "I hope you know what you're taking on Peter." He shook his head as he looked over at Sylar and added, "I think I need another cup of coffee."

Peter walked into the kitchen and said, "I'll make some. Matt you want some too?"

"Sure."

Peter made coffee, and wondered if he was crazy. He was about to open his home to someone who wanted to kill him. Once the coffee was started, Peter picked up the kitchen phone and dialed his brother's number.

After three rings Nathan answered his cell phone after reading the caller ID. Instead of hello, Nathan said, "I'm kind of in the middle of something Pete. Can it wait?"

Peter knew Nathan was desperately trying to cover up last night's event. Peter said, "Sure. Call me when you can."

"Okay, I will." Nathan hung up.

Peter sighed and hung up as well. A few minutes later he was handing out mugs of coffee, and they all sat down to wait for Sylar to wake up.

Sylar's head pounded and he felt sick to his stomach as he blinked awake. He squinted against the harsh sunlight the shined through Peter's living room window. He was still out of it as the tranquilizer left him quite foggy. He looked at the ceiling fan and slowly drifted his eyes downward. As soon as he saw that his hands were tied, his brain immediately became fully alert as he sat bolt up right. Panic began to overtake when he realized with a sinking feeling that his powers were no longer there. 'I can't hear anything! I can't use my powers!' He glared across the room at the three men like a wild animal that had been backed into a corner as he yelled, "What did you do to me!"

Matt turned to Mohinder and said, "The serum worked. He can't use his hearing."

Peter looked at Sylar and said, "We used a tranquilizer to put you to sleep, and then once you were asleep, we gave you a serum to take away your powers."

Sylar gave Peter a look of awe, "But how…?" He felt so many mixes of emotions, anger, fear, betrayal, and despair. He wanted to cry, but wouldn't give them the satisfaction and instead lashed out desperately trying to dislodge his hands and feet from the ropes binding him.

Mohinder snarled in response, "It doesn't matter how Sylar, all that does matter is that you're no longer able to hurt anyone else."

Peter didn't think Mohinder's tone was helping. He understood why he hated Sylar, and knew it was justified, but lashing out with that hate was only going to make things worse. Peter turned to Sylar who was violently trying to get away with no luck. He ignored Mohinder and said to Sylar, "You're going to hurt yourself. Just calm down and we can talk."

Sylar turned his dark eyes onto Peter thinking, 'What do you care if I hurt myself?' He struggled a moment longer before deciding that it was a pointless exertion. He stared hateful eyes at the three of them settling his glare on Peter as he thought, 'Okay, this is getting me nowhere. I need to play along and see what I can do to get free.' Sylar ground his teeth in aggravation as he spouted, "Talk. I don't see as I have much of a choice in the matter… you've got a _captive_ audience after all."

Peter decided to just lay it out there and see how Sylar would react. He walked over and sat on the coffee table a few feet away from Sylar so he could look him in the eye while he talked. "Your powers are gone; you're stuck in the body of a seven year old. The three of us can't just let you go because we know you're a murderer and you'll kill again given the chance. That doesn't leave us with many options. The police aren't going to believe you're Sylar, so we can't have you put in jail where you belong. We won't..."

Peter looked over a Mohinder for a second and said, "I won't give you up to the company, because I couldn't live with myself if they tortured you or made you their personal assassin. So I've decided to keep you here with me for the time being."

Sylar's gut churned at Peter's admission. As he thought, 'I'm really stuck like this? And _HE'S_ going to be in charge of keeping me? It's okay. Don't panic. I can get away from him; what's he going to do to keep me here… lock me in a closet?' He gulped back the tightness closing up his throat as he leveled his eyes on Peter and gave him a sly smile, "You're going to keep me? Like I'm your little pet?"

Mohinder bristled at Sylar's tone as he replied dangerously, "We don't have to bring you to the company Sylar, but I'm sure we could still arrange to have your mind wiped. Believe me when I say, you're getting a far better deal staying here with Peter. If I had the choice, you would have been put down like the rabid dog you are."

Sylar's smile only widened at Mohinder's indignant anger as he thought, 'So righteous, just like your father. You both think you're better than me. Well, I proved you wrong didn't I? I'll get out of this just like I got out of every thing else you've thrown at me.'

Peter scowled over at Mohinder and said, "You're not helping."

Matt turned to Mohinder and said, "Sylar's just playing along right now. He's biding his time until he can escape. Even tied up and powerless he's pretty smug about his ability to get away."

Peter quickly thought to Matt 'Don't let him know I can read his thoughts too.'

Matt sent a thought to Mohinder, 'Don't tell Sylar Peter can read his thoughts.'

Peter said to Sylar, "Matt here can read your thoughts."

Sylar's eyes widened in momentary shock before settling back into an angry glare hatefully directed at Matt. He felt violated by the intrusion, and he purposefully thought at Matt, 'So, you're reading my thoughts are you? That'll be a neat ability to acquire when I get my powers back and slice your head open to take it from you. Your friend here can't hold me forever.' He grinned sadistically trying to unnerve Matt with intimidation and doing his best to screen his thoughts to only project hate and loathing as he responded nonchalantly, "You found me out; guess I should have known you wouldn't have been that gullible, but after our first meeting in Kirby Plaza… well let's just say I wasn't giving any gold stars in that department."

Mohinder was on the verge of backhanding Sylar just to wipe the snide grin off his face as he took a step forward leaning down into Sylar's face with a grin of his own, "This all coming from you whose literally half the man you were. I really don't think you of all people have any right to accuse anyone of being gullible."

Peter stood up and got in between Mohinder and Sylar, looking at Mohinder, "I understand why you hate him, but taunting him isn't going to help. I think you should go. I've got this under control."

While Mohinder and Peter faced off Matt shoved a thought it Sylar's mind. 'If Peter can't control you, I can.' Then Matt concentrated and forced a suggestion into Sylar's head. ''You're tired, and you can't keep your eyes open.''

Peter glared at Matt and thought loudly, 'You should go too!'

Panic coursed through him as Sylar felt the mental suggestion taking effect, and he realized he was powerless to stop it as he began to slump forward eyes fluttering uncontrollably.

Mohinder stared at Peter in disbelief. He wanted to tell Peter he was insane for trusting himself to keep Sylar but bit his tongue as he straightened to stare one last time at Sylar before turning towards the door. He remarked to Peter as he stormed over to the chair holding his jacket, "If you need me, you've got my number Peter. Come on Matt; let's get out of here before I do something for the betterment of mankind."

Matt turned to Peter and said, "Be careful, and call us if you need help."

"Thanks again. Both of you." Peter said with sincerity.

Matt turned and left with Mohinder.

Peter looked back at Sylar and could tell he was falling asleep again. He wasn't sure how long it would take, for Sylar to wake up again, but decided to take advantage of the situation to grab a shower and change clothes, especially since Sylar was still tied up.

Fifteen minutes later Peter was clean and in new clothes. He walked out to check on Sylar and found him still asleep. He sat down on the other side of the couch and thought about what he was going to do while he waited for Sylar to wake up.


	8. Settling In

Sylar's eyes moved rapidly back and forth behind closed eyelids a small sweat breaking out on his forehead. He was surrounded by darkness running where? He didn't know, but he couldn't escape whatever it was that was chasing him. His footsteps echoed in his mind as they slapped the dirty city alley street. The rain poured down upon him and his heart raced as he reached a dead end.

There before him was a large chain length fence, and as he started to climb the fence, it continued to grow longer and longer. The overwhelming need to reach the top plunged him further up the never ending fence until he could see nothing but miles of fence line leading up to the darkened rainy skies. The rain obscured his vision, and he felt his muscles shake. He couldn't hold on much longer. He gasped looking back down into the endless void below as he struggled to hold on to the fence.

The wind picked up, its speed shifting the fence to and fro as the roaring rain pounded down onto to him and he finally lost his grip. He screamed out, "Noooo!" as he fell into what seemed oblivion. His screams were abruptly cut off as he felt strong hands clasp a hold of him and stop his descent into the void. He swiveled his head back eyes wide with shock to see Peter flying them upward as he said, "Don't worry; I've got you."

Sylar gasped sitting straight up. His heart was pounding in his ears as he thought, 'Just a dream! It was just a dream.' He spun around to see Peter was sitting next to him, and a chill ran up his spine as he wondered what the dream could have meant.

As Peter was considering his options, he looked over at Sylar and noticed that he was tossing and turning. He wondered if he could tap into someone's dream, but didn't attempt it. Then he wondered if he should try to wake him up. He said, "Sylar?"

A few seconds later Sylar sat up suddenly. Peter listened to Sylar's thoughts as he woke up, and gave Sylar a sympathetic look. "Bad dream?"

Peter's resolve seemed so unshakable. Sylar wanted to get under his skin; he wanted to push Peter into either giving him over to the company so he didn't have to face his failures or make Peter kill him to put him out of the misery of living trapped in a child's body with Peter as his prison guard. He seethed as he thought, 'Just do it Peter! Kill me! I can't live like this! I won't live in your shadow to be constantly reminded that you're more special than me!' Sylar's frustration reached a boiling point as he glared at Peter angrily and spat, "What's it to you if I have a bad dream? As far as I'm concerned this whole situation is going to be just one long bad dream. You can't keep me here trussed up like this forever! When I get away, and I will; believe me when I say that I'll make you all pay for doing this to me! I'll find a way to get my powers back again, and I'll kill you and take yours!"

Peter was sure it wouldn't be appreciated, but the strongest emotion he felt for Sylar at this point was pity. He shook his head, leaned over, and started to untie Sylar's feet. As he worked on the knots he said, "I'm not keeping you tied up, but I am keeping you here. What are you gonna do if you get away? You need to use your head here and think about the situation. It doesn't have to be a nightmare to stay here. How are you going to keep yourself fed with no money and no way to make money?"

Peter had gotten the knots undone, and took the rope off Sylar's feet. Then he started working on the rope that was around the couch while he waited to see what Sylar's response would be.

Sylar couldn't help the deep seeded frown the found its way across his face as he thought, 'He's right. I've got nowhere to go, and I really don't want to be out there on the street again especially stuck in this body.' He watched Peter untie his feet as he said darkly, "I'd survive. I always have. Living here might not be a nightmare for me, but it might become a nightmare for you," he warned.

Peter had gotten the rope off the couch, and worked on the ropes that were holding Sylar's hands behind his back. "I'm sure you would survive, I just doubt it would be very pleasant. Now I don't know about you, but I want to know if you're going to stay in this state and grow normally, or if you're going to wake up as an adult one day. How about you give me the address of whoever did this to you, and we'll go find out everything we can about your... condition."

He finished getting the last knot out, and the rope came off Sylar's wrists.

Sylar watched Peter curiously as he was untied and thought, 'I'd like to find out about that bitch's powers to. I hope he's right about it wearing off, if it doesn't, I'm screwed.' He smiled down at Peter as he said, "She lives in Queens; I don't remember the address anymore, but I remember the girl's name… Alice Monroe."

Peter was pleased that Sylar hadn't tried to run after getting untied. Not that it would have done him much good, but it meant that he was calming down enough to think about things. "Okay, let's look up her address in the phone book."

Peter leaned over and picked up the phone book which was on the table next to the couch. He looked her up and found the address. He wrote her address on some scrap paper that he found on the end table, and then put the book away. He stood and looked down at Sylar. "We need to go shopping first and get you some clothes that actually fit you. You look like a runaway."

Sylar gave himself a once over forgetting what he'd been wearing. He turned his palms up inspecting the dirt smudges he was covered in before turning a smirk up at Peter replying, "Yea, new clothes and a shower would be nice."

There were no windows in Peter's bathroom, so he said, "There are clean towels on the shelf behind the toilet. Go ahead and take a shower. I'll see if I can scrounge up something to fit you.

Sylar looked down the hall before looking back up at Peter warily saying, "Thanks," before walking down the hall and into the bathroom. He thought as he went, 'How can he be so relaxed around me? Doesn't he realize who I am?' He sighed reaching up on tip toes to turn on the bathroom light, 'Who am I kidding?' He thought looking at his sad reflection in the bathroom mirror, 'I'm a nobody all over again.'

He closed the door locking it for piece of mind even though he knew Peter could open it if he really wanted to. He turned the shower on and stripped the woman's stolen clothes off climbing into the shower. He picked up the soap marveling at how small his hands were now, and as he looked around the shower it became more apparent to him his predicament and place in the world.

His aloneness was overwhelming. Before he'd had his powers, and he didn't need anyone because he felt invincible, and before his powers he'd had his mother, and no matter how annoying she'd been, he'd felt she'd at least wanted to love him even if he could never measure up to her expectations. Now what did he have? He felt vulnerable and ineffectual. He knelt down onto the shower floor curling into a ball as he let himself softly cry out his misery under the loud roar of the pounding waters.


	9. Tempers Flaring

Once Sylar had gotten himself under control, he finished washing up and wrapped himself in a clean towel. He did feel a lot better now, and hoped as he exited the bathroom that Peter had found something else better for him to wear than the dirty clothes currently piled on the bathroom floor.

After listening in on Sylar's thoughts long enough to know he wasn't going to try anything other then taking a shower, Peter left the apartment, and ran down the hallway, passing three apartment doors as he went. At the fourth door he knocked and muttered, "Please be home."

A few seconds later a woman answered and said, "Hi Peter, what are you up to today?"

Peter smiled and said, "Hi Cindy, one of my nephews is visiting me today, and he spilled juice all over himself while trying to pour it into a cup. Could I borrow some of Kyle's clothes for the rest of the day?"

Cindy smiled, "Sure, you wanna come in while I get them?"

Peter darted his eyes back to the apartment, "Actually, I was hoping you could bring them down to me. The kids in the shower, and I want to be within hearing in case something happens."

"Okay, I'll bring you over a tee shirt and a pair of sweats."

"Thanks."

As soon as the door was shut, Peter quickly walked back to his apartment and listened in to Sylar's thoughts along the way. He was thinking about being alone with no powers. It was difficult to know for sure just from the thoughts, but Peter was pretty sure Sylar was crying.

A few minutes after he'd gotten back to the apartment Cindy knocked on the door and handed Peter some of her son's clothes. Peter said, "Thanks I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it. Kyle is actually growing out of these, so your nephew can keep them if he wants."

As soon as Cindy left Peter took a good look at the shirt and said, "I doubt he'll want to keep them."

A little while later Sylar came out wrapped in a towel. Peter held out the shirt and sweat pants to him. "I hope you like Power Rangers."

Sylar's eyebrow went up in amusement as he remarked in disdain, "Better than women's booty shorts." He took the clothes and made his way back to the bathroom to change. The clothes fit well, and he couldn't help the, "pfft," that escaped looking at himself and thinking, 'I really hopes he lets me pick out my own clothes!'

A few moments later he came back out as he looked to Peter thinking, 'After we find out about that girl's powers, I need to find a way to get out of here.' He smiled slyly, "All ready."

Thinking he was going to have to keep a close eye on Sylar, Peter headed for the door and said, "Come on."

They got into Peter's car, and as Peter pulled out into traffic he said, "Sylar is an odd name, and it's all over the news since you're a serial killer. I'm not going to call you that in public. You wanna stick with Sam, or go with something else? What's your real name?"

Sylar tensed at the thought of giving up his name as he thought, 'I'm surprised Mohinder never told you my god given name was Gabriel Gray. Not that I'm going to tell you; you've stripped me of everything, you're not taking my name as well!' His eyebrows furrowed in anger as he leveled his hate-filled eyes at Peter and said, "Sylar is my name! I'm not going by anything else!"

Cursing his own stupidity for thinking Sylar would willingly give up his name, and wishing he had thought to use Mohinder as an excuse for knowing Sylar's real name, Peter got out his cell phone. As he hit a speed dial number he said with irritation, "Sylar may have been your name when you were an adult, but you're not anymore. I will not call you Sylar when we're in public."

He put the phone to his ear and a few seconds later Matt answered, "Peter, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just need you to tell me Sylar's real name."

"It's Gabriel Gray, but..."

Peter, knowing that Sylar could hear the conversation, hung up on Matt before he could say anything about Peter already knowing. Peter turned to Sylar and said, "So do you like Gabe or Gabriel?"

Sylar's mouth hung agape at Peter's words as he exploded, "Don't you EVER call me that! My name IS SYLAR! And I don't give a damn what other people think! If you haven't realized yet, I AM AN ADULT! I may be trapped in this stupid body, but you're not going to treat me like a child!" They were stopped at a red light and Sylar thought to himself, 'To hell with this! I bet I could run across this traffic and into the subway before he can catch me! I'll find that bitch on my own! I'm not going to put up with this crap any longer.' He unclipped the seatbelt he was wearing and threw the door open getting ready to run.

Listening to Sylar's thoughts of escape, Peter clamped a hand on Sylar's left arm, before he could actually get a foot out of the car door. He kept a tight hold on Sylar's arm and said, "You're not going anywhere. Trust me, I'm fully aware that you're an adult, but it doesn't show much maturity on your part when you won't go by a different name in public. Now shut the door and put your seatbelt back on."

A car honked behind them, because the light had turned green.

Sylar was infuriated that his plan to escape was thwarted as he yanked to no avail to get his arm away. He turned his intense eyes to burrow into Peter's as he spat, "Screw you; make me."

Peter glared at Sylar for a few seconds, and then turned his focus on the door. He used his telekinesis to shut the door and lock it. Next he focused on the seat belt, and made it come to him. He used his right hand to lift Sylar's left hand up, and then used his left hand to buckle the seatbelt in place. Once Sylar was buckled into his seat, Peter kept one hand on Sylar's arm and started driving again with the other one. "If you won't be cooperative we can't go shopping."

Sylar fought Peter until he'd been buckled back in. His smoldering eyes bored into the side of Peter's face as he screamed in his head, 'I HATE YOU!' He snarled in response to Peter's threat, "Like I care if we go shopping or not." He kicked the underside of the dashboard hard enough to pop the glove-box open sending miscellaneous papers and pens scattering to the floor. Sylar smiled at his handiwork looking to Peter to see what his reaction would be.

Peter ignored the outburst and thought to himself that Sylar was acting the age he looked. Doubting that Sylar would try to get out of the car while it was still moving, Peter let go of him, and used his hand to grab his cell phone. He hit the speed dial button for his sister-in-law. After a few rings she answered, "Hello Peter, Nathan's not back yet if you're looking for him."

Peter slowed down for a red light, and grabbed Sylar's left wrist in his hand to make sure he didn't try anything while they were stopped. He said, "Actually I was looking for you Heidi."

"Oh? What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could send me a few boxes of the boy's clothes. Anything that doesn't fit them anymore. Things you'd give to charity."

"Well sure, but why?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have time to tell you about it right now, but I'll call back later tonight, and give you and Nathan the whole story. Can you have those sent to my apartment today?" The light turned green and Peter let go of Sylar again once they were moving.

"No problem. I'll have them there within the hour."

"Thanks, you're really helping me out."

"Anything for my little brother."

Peter smiled at that before saying, "Talk to you later."

"Bye."

Peter hung up and said to Sylar, "Shopping's done. Now do you think you can be civil long enough to talk to this woman, or should we have Matt babysit you while I go talk to her? I'd think you'd want to know if you were going to stay like this or not."

Sylar silently fumed as he listened in on as much of the phone conversation as he could hear. He could make out a woman's voice, but not much else. When Peter had finished his phone call and threatened to have Matt '_babysit'_ him, he bristled in anger as he thought, 'Oh no you will not leave me with him!' He responded curtly, "I'll be civil." He crossed his arms tightly across his chest as he stared out the window brooding for the remainder of trip and thinking, 'I've just got to be patient. He can't keep tabs on me forever!'

Driving in silence, Peter thought about that. It's true he couldn't keep tabs on Sylar forever. But letting him go wasn't an option either. He'd probably have to ask Matt for some handcuffs so they could both get some sleep.

Half an hour of strained silence later, they pulled up to the address Peter had written down. He turned to Sylar and said, "Keep your mouth shut, and let me do the talking. If we're lucky she won't figure out you're the one who tried to kill her."

Sylar narrowed his eyes in anger at Peter as he thought, 'Please, like she's not going to figure out the fact I'm the one who tried to kill her, it is her power after all.' He replied, "I'll stay quiet," he thought, 'As long as it suits me to be.'


	10. Sick and Tired

Peter got out and made sure to keep Sylar in front of him so he couldn't run off as they walked up the stairs. He found Alice's name on the list of people who lived there and pushed the button to talk to her.

She answered hesitantly, "Hello?"

"Hello Ms. Monroe, my name is Peter, and I wanted to talk to you. I don't know if you've been contacted by a man named Mohnider Suresh, but he's got you on a list of people who are genetically different then the rest of the population. People like myself who can do things normal people can't. Can I come up and talk to you?"

There was a long pause and Peter was sure she was calling the police when he heard her say, "Come up."

Peter went in keeping Sylar in front of him, and found her apartment. He knocked on the door and waited. It opened a crack, and Peter could see that the chain was in place to keep the door from opening more then one inch wide. Alice looked at Peter, and then down at Sylar. Before she could get a good look at Sylar, Peter disappeared.

Alice gasped and heard Peter's voice say "I can be invisible when I want to."

He appeared again and said, "Mohinder contacted me, and told me that there were others out there like me. And now I'm contacting you to let you know that you're not alone."

Alice looked shell shocked and said, "But... how... I never told anyone..."

"What you can do." Peter finished her sentence for her.

She nodded and Peter asked, "What can you do?"

"I make things younger. Plants, animals, people..." Alice's eyes suddenly snapped back to focus on Sylar and her eyes grew wide with horror. "You!" She hissed.

Sylar smiled devilishly at her as he growled, "You remember who I am do you? Good. Then you know what I can do, so you better turn me back now!"

A whimper of fear came out of Alice before she slammed the door shut, clicked the deadbolt into place, and ran to her phone to call 911.

Peter glared at Sylar and then turned to the shut door. "Alice! Alice, he can't hurt you, his powers are gone! We're just here for information!"

They could hear her panicked voice, "The man who tried to kill me is back! He's right outside my door!"

Peter yelled, "They're not going to believe this kid is the one who tried to kill you!"

He didn't hear a response from her.

Sylar glared back at Peter thinking, 'Great! This ought to be good.' He retorted, "Just use your telekinesis to open the deadbolt! I mean, I know you're a total pansy about using your powers, but I'm going to tell you, she's not about to open that door no matter what you say, and we don't have time for this."

Peter hissed down to Sylar, "I'm not going to use my powers to terrify the poor woman more then she already is!"

He turned back to the door and yelled, "If you can change him back, he can go to jail where he belongs now that his powers are gone!"

After a short pause with no response Peter called out, "Alice? Do the effects of your powers wear off? Alice, please give me some kind of information!"

Alice was holding the phone to her ear and listening to the reassuring words of the 911 dispatch agent telling her that the police were on the way. But she was also listening to Peter. She put her hand over the phone and yelled, "Go away! I can't change him back, and the police are coming!"

Pleased to get even that bit of information from her he said, "Just tell me how long he'll stay like this, and we'll leave. We'll never bother you again!"

Alice had noticed that they hadn't even tried to open her door. The handle hadn't moved, and they weren't banging on it or rattling it in its hinges. She wanted them gone by any means necessary, and thought giving them the information they wanted couldn't hurt. She kept her hand over the phone and yelled, "I don't know. I've never used my powers on a person before. But I turned a cat into a kitten, and it grew back into a cat just like a normal kitten would, but a little faster."

Peter called out, "Thank you so much Alice. We're leaving."

He grabbed Sylar, tossed him up over his shoulder in a fireman's hold, and started running up the stairs to get to the roof.

Sylar grunted as he was tossed over Peter's shoulder and screamed out indignity, "Put me down right now!" He squirmed to get out of his grasp fury building as he thought, 'There's got to be a way to change me back to normal! She must have been lying, I can't be stuck like this!' his throat tightened and his stomach did a flip flop at the thought of no cure for his current state of duress.

Ignoring Sylar and keeping a tight grip on his legs, Peter took the stairs as quickly as he could. As soon as they made it to the roof, Peter jumped and flew in the direction of his apartment, wanting to make sure they were long gone before the police arrived.

Sylar tightened his grip on Peter's shoulder when he leapt into the air thinking, 'Jesus! How many damn powers does this guy have! Unbelievable! Of course someone like him who's afraid to use them gets given such gifts!' He squirmed in an attempt to get Peter's grip on his legs looser as he mocked, "Nice move; you know you're still going to have to go back and get your car at some point. That is saying the cops haven't impounded it as evidence by then." Sylar was enjoying tormenting Peter as he thought, 'If I'm going to be miserable, I won't be alone!'

Peter's grip tightened even more. "Stop squirming! I don't want to drop you. There were twenty cars parked on that street, no one is going to notice mine."

Flying was much faster then driving, and within minutes they were landing in the ally behind Peter's apartment building. He put Sylar down on his feet and said, "We'll go back and get the car tonight once the cops are gone."

Sylar growled irritated at Peter but complied. When they had landed in the back alley and Peter had released him, Sylar took several steps backwards staring at him with furrowed eyebrows and clenched fists yelling out, "Don't ever grab me and throw me over your shoulder like that again! You'll never be able to control me, I'll keep fighting you, and I will get away!"

Glaring at Sylar, Peter decided they needed to establish who was in charge. Taking one large step to cover the several steps back Sylar had taken, Peter picked him back up and tossed him over his shoulder again. He turned and started walking the two of them towards the front of his apartment building.

Sylar was enraged as he kicked, punched, and screamed, "God damn it! Put ME DOWN NOW!!" He thought, 'You're not going to treat me like this! I'll keep pushing your buttons until you have no choice but to get rid of me!'

Peter clamped an arm over both of Sylar's legs to keep the kicking to a minimum. "You can yell all you want, and it won't make any difference. You need to come to terms with your new reality. I'm bigger then you, and you are going to be staying with me."

As Peter entered the building he passed a guy coming out who stared at them with concern. Peter gave him an apologetic smile and said, "Sorry, my nephew's a little bit upset that I wouldn't let him go to the park by himself."

The man gave Peter a sympathetic look and continued on his way. Peter turned and started up the stairs.

Sylar roared, "Nephew! I'm not his nephew! He kidnapped me! Damn it! Let me go!" Sylar hoped that the man would say or do something like call the police for him, but the man just shook his head in a 'better you and not me buddy,' gesture which only served to infuriate Sylar more. As a last defense Sylar twisted to the left and bit down on Peter's shoulder.

Peter yelled, "Ow!!" and reacted without a whole lot of forethought. He swatted Sylar's butt hard with his free hand and said, "No biting."

Sylar froze instantly in his shock as he thought, 'He hit me! No! He spanked me! No ONE spanks me! No one's ever spanked me!' He squalled out, "How DARE you! You jerk!" Once the initial shock wore off he struggled even harder to get away.

Reading Sylar's thoughts, Peter thought to himself, 'Never been spanked huh? I guess you're in for a rude awakening.' Thinking about the drawing he'd made in the bathroom of the police station, Peter thought to himself, 'I didn't think it would be happening so soon, but he's obviously not listening to reason.'


	11. The Voice of Reason

Peter hadn't been spanked much as a kid, but there had been a few times, and he knew for a fact that Nathan had spanked both of his sons once or twice. Peter made it to his apartment door, but Sylar was struggling so hard that Peter didn't want to take the time to get out his keys. He phased them both through the apartment door, sat himself on the edge of the coffee table, and transferred Sylar from his position over Peter's shoulder to face down over Peter's lap.

Sylar stiffened as he thought, 'No! No! No! This isn't happening! This can't be happening!' He spun his head around quickly to face Peter with a look of shock painted across his face, "What? What do you think you are you doing?!"

"I'm spanking you," Peter answered as if it were a very normal and reasonable response to the question. He looked back at Sylar's rear and decided if he were going to do it, he should go all the way. He pulled down the sweat pants to expose Sylar's butt, and brought his hand down with a firm slap.

The words echoed in Sylar's mind and his mouth opened to protest, but before he could he felt the sweats he was wearing get pulled down along with the swift slap that followed. He was mortified that Peter would spank him as he screamed out, "No! You can't!" He bucked to get off of Peter's lap as he thought, 'He can't really be serious… can he?'

Peter put his arm around Sylar's waist to make sure he couldn't get up, and brought his hand down with each word as he said, "Yes. I can."

His hand was big enough to cover most of Sylar's butt with each spank. He stepped up the tempo of the swats and said, "You've told me that you're not going to stay with me without a fight. You've told me that you're going to try and escape every chance you get. This is my answer to that."

Sylar squalled, "Ow! Stop that!" Sylar thought in dismay, 'Wow! That really hurts! Okay! Okay! I've got to think a way to get out of this!' Sylar kicked his feet up to cover the blows turning a worried expression up at Peter as he acquiesced, "Alright! You made your point! I'll stop fighting with you okay?"

Peter paused long enough to move Sylar from his position of laying across both of Peter's thighs, to bent over just Peter's left thigh. Then he quickly pushed Sylar's feet out of the way with his hand, and pinned both of Sylar's legs between his own. Once his target was clear again Peter resumed the spanking with a little more force. "I don't believe you."

Sylar grunted as he was moved, and his heartbeat quickened ten fold when Peter secured him unmovable and he thought, 'No! Please no! This is so humiliating!' He pulled and twisted to the best of his ability trying to move his ass away from being a target to Peter's heavy hand with no avail as he shouted, "Peter? Ow! Peter! Let's, let's talk about this! Ahh! I, I over reacted! I didn't mean to bite you! Oww! I was just mad!"

Peter kept swatting and said, "You didn't mean to bite me? Yeah right. That was a deliberate attack. I have been trying my best to do the right thing for you, and for the people you might try to hurt if you were free, and you've been completely unreasonable all afternoon."

Sylar tried to hold back the whimper threatening to escape at hearing Peter's words as he thought, 'Oh god! He's not going to stop! This really, really hurts!' He grunted at each swat writhing about uncontrollably as he justified, "Unreasonable?! Ahh! You're not the one who just got OWW! Just got changed into a body of a kid! OW! STOP! Can't we talk about this?"

Not stopping Peter said, "We'll talk once the spanking is over."

Sylar's stomach tightened as he thought, 'Over? How long is that going to take! This isn't fair! I don't deserve this!' Sylar hollered at every swat looking back with a pitiful pout to see Peter's hand coming up to connect again. He scrunched his eyes shut on the impact turning away as he thought, 'I'm not going to cry! I'm not going to let him see me cry!'

Peter couldn't believe that Sylar didn't think he deserved what he was getting and thought, 'Oh yes; you are going to cry.'

Peter had been pretty careful about the force he was using, knowing that Sylar's body was small compared to his now. He was spanking harder then he would spank a normal kid who didn't have the logic and experience that an adult would have, but not anywhere close to as hard as he could. He paused and said, "Ten more and it's over."

For the next ten swats Peter used more force, and waited a couple of seconds in between each swat.

Sylar's mind screamed out, 'No more! No more!' with every painful swat and just when he thought he couldn't bare to take any more, Peter told him he still had ten more to endure.

The first of the ten struck him to the core as he yelled out, "I can't take any more Peter! Please! Please stop!" His voice cracked under the strain and as the second and third swats fell, Sylar collapsed in defeat and sniveled out, "I'm sorry! Okay? I'm sorry!"

When the swats didn't stop the tears came as he thought, 'How did I come to this? Everything has been taking from me! I had so much power, and now I have nothing! I just have to lay here and take this, this punishment! Maybe I do deserve this? I just wanted to be special! I didn't want all this! I didn't want to be this!' Sylar couldn't hold back the sobs that escaped as he waited desperately for Peter to finish what he'd started.

Listening carefully to Sylar's thoughts Peter brought the spanking to an end. Inspecting Sylar's butt, Peter could tell there would be a couple of small bruises, and he told himself he'd have to be more careful if there was a next time. He opened his legs, reached down, and pulled Sylar's sweats up for him.

He was positive that Sylar wouldn't want or accept his comfort, but in his mind, comfort after a spanking was one of the basic elements that made up a spanking, and had to at least be offered. Peter picked Sylar up, stood him on his feet so he was standing between Peter's legs, and pulled him into a light hug that Sylar could push out of if he wanted to.

Sylar was sobbing sucking in breath after breath in an effort to stop the tears from falling. When Peter had set him back up on wobbly feet and pulled him into a hug his whole body convulsed into tremors. He felt so weak, and he didn't want to leave the embrace as he cried desperately into Peter's shoulder afraid to let go and face Peter in this vulnerable state.

Amazed that Sylar was staying put, Peter rubbed a hand up and down his trembling back and said quietly, "You're gonna be okay. Just give yourself a few minutes to calm down."

Sylar continued to sob into Peter's shirt as he cried out, "I'm, I'm not going to, to be okay! …I just don't know how to stop what I've become!" He continued to cry as he thought, 'I'm tired of fighting; I'm tired of being so angry and alone. I just want it to end. Why couldn't you just end me Peter? Why did you have to, to be you!"

Peter comforted, "I'm going to help you figure it out. I don't know if you think much about fate, but I do. It's not a coincidence that you picked me out of all the people you could have gone to after getting changed. We're going to work together to make your life make sense again."

Sylar's sobs had died down to a quiet whimper as he stepped back away from Peter rubbing at his eyes furiously to make the constant stream of tears stop, 'Why can't I stop crying? Gods I sicken me! I'm so pathetic crying like this in front of him,' Sylar thought sourly as he looked away to the right to avoid eye contact. He mumbled a soft quavering, "Why do you care what happens to me Peter?" He turned back to look at Peter his dark eyes swollen with tears, lip quivering uncontrollably as he stated, "I'm a bad person… I've done horrible unspeakable things that can't be forgiven, but you know that, and you still tried to be nice to me even after I knew that you knew who I was. I don't understand?"

Peter had to think about that for a few seconds. He leaned his elbows on his knees and said, "I care about what happens to everyone I come in contact with. That's just who I am. I don't believe that people are inherently bad. Yes you've done horrible things, but that doesn't mean that forgiveness is forever gone to you. Forgiveness isn't a black and white thing, there are many shades of gray. And I want to help you just because I can."

Sylar studied him as he thought, 'I don't think he's lying… maybe he really does want to help me be a better person? I guess the least I can do is try to start over. This doesn't have to be as bad as I'm making it.' Sylar looked down at his hands to lose focus on the world around him. He was still embarrassed, and he felt sorry for putting Peter through so much and mumbled, "I'm sorry I've been such a jerk to you today."

Peter put a hand on Sylar's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I forgive you, and I appreciate the apology. There are some tissues in the bathroom. Why don't you go clean up, while I see if there's anything in the cupboards I can make for dinner. Then we're going to need to go over a few basic ground rules for you living here while we eat."

His stomach growled at the mention of food as he realized it had been several hours since they'd eaten at the pizza diner. Sylar didn't look up but nodded in agreement to Peter's suggestion and slowly strode towards the bathroom as he thought, 'Great. Basic ground rules… I can hardly wait to hear what those are going to be.'


	12. The Rules

Pleased with the compliance, Peter watched Sylar walk to the bathroom. He stood and rubbed the spot on his shoulder where Sylar had bitten him and found the spot had healed even though the shirt was still a little damp with spit. He thought the confrontation had gone pretty well all things considered.

Getting up, he walked to the kitchen to see what he had in the way of food. Most nights he went out, but he did have some frozen dinners and some cans of food. He rummaged around and pulled a few different things out deciding that Sylar could choose, since he had no idea what he might actually want to eat, and waited for him to come out.

Sylar sighed as he entered the bathroom and turned on the light. He turned to look back at what Peter was doing, and when he knew he was safe from prying eyes, he turned his head back to his ass as he pulled the sweats down to inspect the damage there. He complained inwardly, Damn it Peter! That's going to hurt for awhile. You didn't have to hit so hard! The thought brought a pout to his face as he eased the sweats back up over the slightly bruised flesh and reached over on top of the counter to get a tissue.

Once he'd dried his tears, he turned the light out but lingered in the doorway watching Peter pull out different cans of food from various cupboards. He was hesitant to leave the sanctuary of the bathroom and face what was to be the beginning of a new life. I can't stay in here forever, so I might as well go out there and face him again. I don't think it could get much more humiliating than it already has been. After another few moments, Sylar pushed back the growing dread of the soon to be conversation of 'new rules' and entered the kitchen where Peter was waiting for him.

Peter felt a little guilty when Sylar thought Peter had hit him too hard, and he found himself justifying his actions in his head. It may have been a little harder then it needed to be, but it was still necessary, and a lot more humane then what would happen to him if someone else got a hold of him.

Sylar came into the kitchen and Peter was brought out of his thoughts. Gesturing to the things on the counter, Peter said, "We have some different kinds of soup, some canned chili, boxed pasta, and a few different frozen meals. Any of it look edible to you?"

Before Sylar had the chance to answer there was a knock on Peter's door. "Hold that thought," he said as he walked over to answer the door. There was a delivery man holding a large box and two shopping bags. "Peter Petrelli?"

"Yes."

The delivery man handed over the box and bags as he said, "These were sent to you from Heidi Petrelli."

"Great. Thank you." Peter put down the packages and dug into his wallet for a tip. He handed it to the delivery man and then shut the apartment door again. Walking back to the kitchen he said, "After we eat and talk, you can see what does and doesn't fit. Did you decide on dinner?"

Sylar had watched curiously from the kitchen as the delivery man came and went. When Peter had come back asking about dinner Sylar shrugged answering, "Anything is fine with me." His eyes maneuvered in a semi circle around the kitchen as if taking the place in for the first time before they drifted back down to settle on his feet purposefully avoiding eye contact with Peter. His cheeks were still flushed with embarrassment unsure how to act around Peter now that the dynamic of their relationship had just done a 1-80.

Peter understood Sylar's obvious embarrassment, because that was how he'd always felt after a spanking, and he knew it had to be a hundred times worse when the spanking came from a virtual stranger. He decided to try and draw Sylar out with some questions. But first he picked up one of the frozen meals, read the back, took it out of the box and put it in the microwave to cook. As he was putting the cans away he said, "How old are you... or were you before this happened?"

Sylar leaned against the door frame sweeping his foot back and forth glancing up every now and then to see what Peter was doing. He sighed uncomfortably at the question hating the reminder of his current state as he mumbled, "Twenty-nine." He thought, I'm twenty-nine going on eight, and I'll be thirty next month. Happy freaking birthday to me.

A little older then me, thought Peter, That's kind of funny considering. But I doubt he'd see the humor.

He finished putting away the cans and then said, "What kind of work did you do before you found out about your abilities?"

Sylar thought about his old life and frowned. There were several reasons he wanted to escape that life, and working in his dad's abandoned shop was one of them. He said unenthusiastically, "I ran a timepiece restoration and repair shop down in Manhattan called Gray & Sons. Family business; I took it over…" He didn't want to finish the sentence cutting it short before telling Peter anything about his family problems. He instead added, "I'm sure it's been cleared out by now and reopened under some new store."

Peter could tell that Sylar wasn't enthused about his previous life, and decided to let it drop for now. The microwave buzzed, so Peter turned and took the box out. He took a second frozen meal off the counter, got it ready, and put it in the microwave as well. Once it was cooking, he got out a fork, and put the cooked meal on the table. He turned to Sylar and said, "This one's fried chicken, and the other is spaghetti. Which do you prefer?"

Sylar followed Peter over to the table and responded, "Chicken is good."

"Okay. Be careful, it's hot." Peter left the food for Sylar and walked back towards the microwave. Leaning a hip against the kitchen counter, he waited for the buzzer and said, "What do you like to do with your spare time. I'm only asking because it looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together."

Sylar smirked at Peter's warning as he climbed into the chair facing the steaming dinner. The smirk quickly faded as his ass touched the chair giving him a swift reminder of twenty minutes earlier. He saw Peter walking back into the kitchen and lifted himself up shifting to his knees to ease the throb as he thought slightly miffed, I can't believe he really spanked me! That can't, no that won't ever happen again.

When peter asked about his interests, he thought about the library he'd accumulated at his old apartment in Queens; the walls had been lined with how to books along with many of the classics he'd tended to escape into after a long boring day at the shop. He responded, "I've always kind of been a loner. I spent a lot of time reading and tinkering with things. I always thought I had a natural aptitude with learning how things work, but now my brain feels muddled like I can't hone in on the intricacies I used to." He thought, I guess that serum took that from me to. I've spent the past year so obsessed with building myself up to be the most evolved human, so now that I'm not, I don't know what I want to do with myself anymore.

Keeping his mind tuned to Sylar's thoughts, Peter honestly did hope that he wouldn't have cause to spank him again, but from what he'd seen so far, he doubted that was going to be the case. While Sylar was talking, Peter's food buzzed. He took it out, and went to the table to eat his too. Frowning Peter said, "Muddled? I was on a different inhibiter for a while, a pill, and it didn't make my mind feel muddled. But if learning how things worked was an ability, then that would be gone now."

Knowing there was no use in dwelling on what Sylar had lost, Peter changed the subject. "Time to go over the ground rules. First up is no running away. You're staying here with me."

Sylar thought bitterly, Yea, I kind of figured taking off wouldn't be on the list of can dos. I wonder if that means he plans to give me enough freedom that I could runaway? Could he ever trust me that much? Not any time soon I'm sure. He didn't respond busying himself with eating his chicken but glancing up while Peter was talking to let him know he was if fact listening to him.

"And I can't believe I'm actually saying it, but the second basic rule will be no attempting to kill anyone. And while we're at it; no hurting anyone on purpose either."

Sylar couldn't help the small giggle that escaped at how ridiculous that statement sounded as he covered his mouth to not let the chicken he was chewing fly across the table. He swallowed and replied, "I think I can manage that."

Smiling himself, Peter said, "Good."

His smile faded and his countenance became serious again, "Now I already know that you're not in agreement with number three, but it's going to stand anyway, so you'd better change your attitude about it. I will not call you Sylar in public. I can understand why you might not want to be called Gabriel if that name brings up bad memories, but Sylar is a serial killer, and you need to think about the things that name implies before you're so quick to defend it. How about we shorten it to Sy when other people are around?"

Sylar's smile faded as well as his eyes drifted down to the plate of food in front of him and he thought, It doesn't matter now anyway; I'm not Sylar anymore. I'm just plain old Gabriel again, so I might as well start going by that name again. He mumbled dejectedly, "No, you're right. You can call me Gabriel from now on."

Surprised by the acquiescence after the amount of anger Sylar had shown before, Peter said, "Oh... Okay Gabriel it is then."

He took a few bites of food while thinking that over. He was actually glad that last one hadn't been a problem, because he was pretty sure this next one was going to be. After swallowing Peter said, "Number four is that I have the final say on things. It's more complex then that, but that's the most basic way to put it. We're not equals while you stay here. You can give me your opinions, and you can tell me you don't agree, but if I tell you to do something I expect you to do it. That can range all the way from putting a dish in the sink to not causing a scene in public when we're out somewhere."

Sylar growled inwardly, Nice. Not equals… just rub it in why don't you. And causing a scene? What, does he expect me to do? …start throwing temper tantrums? The thought made him remember the car ride along with the events that followed as he thought, I guess I did kind of throw a tantrum earlier, but that doesn't matter. Just because I'm in a kid's body doesn't mean he can treat me like one! He scowled squinting his eyes angrily at Peter as he responded, "Final say on everything? If I'm adamantly against doing something, you can't make me do it! And as for a scene? Please! As long as you don't try to boss me around, there won't be any scene to worry about."

Peter had been expecting Sylar to disagree with him, and he was ready. "I'm telling you what the ground rules are to give you fair warning, not to get your compliance. Last up is number five. We are going to be working every day on rehabilitating you. Maybe you'll see this apartment as a prison, and me as a warden, but I'd much rather have you see this as a school and me as your teacher. I want us to actively think about and make plans for your future. You will grow up again, probably faster then before, and I want you to be able to find a place in society that doesn't hurt others and still lets you enjoy life."

Sylar hated to be reminded that he had no control over his future and gripped his plate in frustration. His first thought was to fling his plate angrily across the room, but knowing that would likely earn him another spanking, he thought better of it.

His jaw tightened as he told himself, Getting angry isn't going to change this situation. Just suck it up because he's not trying to be a jerk; he's trying to help. He let out a long breath relaxing the grip he held on his plate and responding, "I'm going to do my best to work with you Peter; you've just got to promise me you'll work with me to. This... this whole thing isn't easy to deal with, and as much as I want to be a better person, I've got a lot to adjust to living like this. I don't want you treating me like a kid, I get that you're in charge, but the whole you spanking me thing, that's not acceptable at all!"

Peter was pleased to see that Sylar was working on keeping himself under control. "I know it's a difficult adjustment. It's a big change for me too. I'm used to living alone, and doing what I want when I want without worrying about anyone else. But I can't see a better solution for your situation then living with me. I can't live with just leaving you on your own, not only because you could hurt someone else, but because in your current body people could hurt you. And I can't live with you going to the company knowing what they'll do to you."

Pausing to think for a second, Peter continued, "Spanking you isn't something I want to do again, but the way I treat you is going to be a direct result of how you act. Can you honestly say you were acting like an adult today when you were trying to run out of my car in the middle of traffic? When you kicked the glove box? Or when you were kicking and biting me to get me to put you down?"

Sylar slouched embarrassed at Peter's recollection of his behavior as he mindlessly stabbed at a carrot and thought, He would have to bring that up. He sighed in agitation before responding, "Okay, I did act out a little, but you can hardly blame me given the circumstances. I mean you would have done the same if you were in my shoes. I understand that my behavior earlier was out of hand, so now you can just talk to me if I'm doing something you disagree with. I promise that I'll listen better, and there won't be anymore incidents like those earlier. You're smart, so you can find an alternative to spanking right? …a more adult punishment?" Sylar justified in hopes it sounded convincing enough for Peter to agree with.

Peter doubted that any other punishment would be nearly as affective, but he said, "I'm wiling to talk about it. You seem very anxious to avoid getting spanked again, and that's what makes it a good choice in my opinion. It will hurt enough that you want to avoid it, but won't leave any lasting damage. If you're angry and acting out, a spanking will immediately change your emotional state so that you'll stop acting out. I think knowing you'll get spanked when you don't follow the rules will actually be beneficial to your rehabilitation. What kind of punishment would you suggest?"

Sylar swirled his fork around in the fragments of what was left of his mashed potatoes unwittingly pouting at Peter's words as he thought, Beneficial to my rehabilitation? Ugh. That had to be one of the most humiliating and humbling experiences I've ever had to go through in my entire life! I think I'd just as soon die to avoid repeating it, but I can't let him ever know that! His stomach tightened and his hands grew clammy just thinking of getting another spanking.

He knew if he was ever going to get Peter to agree never to spank him again, he'd have to formulate a good debate, I've got to think of something he will consider equally as bad… something that'll be a worthy enough punishment to suck enough to seem like it could cause just as much displeasure. Sylar arched both eyebrows as he looked up innocently from his plate and responded, "You want my suggestion? Well, let me think… In prisons they use solitary confinement… I guess if I do something you find disagreeable, you can always take away my privilege to move freely about the house. Kind of like a lockdown. Or maybe have me do housecleaning or some other job as a sort of community service."

Shaking his head in disagreement, Peter said, "Putting you in solitary and making you do physical labor won't produce the same results that a spanking will, but I can see them having their own benefit. So here's the deal; if you break rule number one and run away, I will track you down, and I will spank you. That is not negotiable. For the rest of the rules, I'll try solitary confinement or physical labor first. But if they don't seem to be working, or you refuse to comply when I tell you you're being punished, then I'm going to resort to a spanking. I'm a reasonable person, and you'll have plenty of warning, and plenty of time to get yourself under control before I'll take stronger measures."

Sylar sighed frowning at the realization he wasn't going to be able to talk Peter out of spanking him if Peter deemed in necessary. He thought, At least it won't be the first option in disciplining me… and if I do run away, believe me Peter that I'll make sure you'll never catch me to be able to administer another spanking! In response, Sylar nodded slowly as he said, "I guess that's enough of a compromise. Is that it? Or are there _more_ rules," he asked begrudgingly.

"That's it." Peter ate the last few bites of his spaghetti, and once he'd swallowed, he said, "When you're done eating, go try on the clothes my sister-in-law sent over. And I'll clear out the bottom drawer of my dresser for your clothes. Then when that's done, I'll fly us over to go pick up my car."


	13. Home Sweet Home

Sylar glanced over to the two grocery bags and dilapidated cardboard box and then back at Peter as he replied, "I'm done eating." Without saying anymore, Sylar laid his fork down on his napkin and carefully slid off his chair. He crept over to the stack of new clothes opening the box first to peer inside at its contents. It had winter jackets, sweaters, and pants. The two grocery bags had socks, underwear, pajamas, and a few summer wear t-shirts and shorts. He knelt on the ground next to the clothes and started to pull each item out and organize them into piles. After everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours, he needed some type of control at moment to ease his mind, and the clothes structuring served this purpose for him. He thought, 'These clothes aren't too bad. At least they're mostly plain…' he pulled out a shirt bearing a, swinging on a web, Spider-man, and he smirked thinking, 'cute.'

Peter cleared the table, throwing away the food cartons, and putting the forks in the sink. He glanced at Sylar to make sure he was doing what he'd asked, and then went into the bedroom. He looked in the bottom drawer of his dresser, and moved the clothes that were in there into different drawers. Once that was done he went out to the living room, sat on the couch, and waited for Sylar to get done sorting his new clothes.

By the time Peter had sat on the couch, Sylar had just about finished his clothes sorting task. He had only slept about two hours earlier, and the lack of sleep was catching up to him now as he yawned sleepily. He turned to Peter and said, "These are all around the same size as the clothes I'm wearing currently. I'm pretty sure they'll fit; do you mind if I try them on later?"

"That's fine. Just leave them there for tomorrow, and you can let me know if you need more of anything."

Peter stood up and said, "Ready to go get the car?"

Sylar smiled at the thought of flying again as he replied, "I'm ready as I'll ever be."

Giving Sylar a serious look, Peter said, "You've made it clear you don't like it when I pick you up, but I have to pick you up to fly us over there. I'm warning you, no squirming or trying to get down while we're flying, it's dangerous. If you do try to get down while we're in the air; it's gonna be thirty minutes solitary when we get back. You got it?"

Sylar hadn't planned to fuss, but Peter's warning dampened his lightening mood as he scowled and responded curtly, "I wasn't going to give you a hard time Peter, so you don't have to threaten me. I'll _behave_ okay."

Peter picked up his keys, stuck them in his pocket. He said calmly, "I hope you do behave, but I don't know you well enough yet to assume that you will, and I wanted you to understand what I expected before we left."

Walking into the bedroom, Peter opened the window which led to a fire escape. He stepped out onto it and said, "Come on." waiting for Sylar to climb out as well.

Sylar realized why Peter had stated what he had, but he hated to hear about his ability to be dealt with if he didn't comply with an order. He watched Peter walk towards his bedroom and followed after him. He followed Peter's command climbing out onto the metal fire escape, his eyes taking in his surroundings. It was an alleyway, perfectly secluded for flying off into the night air unnoticed. A chill ran up his spine as he thought, 'This place reminds me of my falling nightmare.' He let a small smile cross his face as he looked up at Peter curiously thinking, 'And you saved me.' He lifted his arms to be picked up as he stated, "I think this will be more fun then the last time we did this."

Peter smiled after hearing Sylar's thoughts, and seeing him being an active participant in being picked up. Peter leaned down, put one arm behind Sylar's back and one arm under his knees and picked him up. Holding Sylar close to his chest Peter said, "I think so too."

He shot up into the sky and headed in the direction of Alice's apartment.

Sylar gazed out at the night sky marveling at the city from this distance as he thought, 'This is fantastic! I'm definitely going to have to convince Peter to do this again.' It didn't take long before Alice's familiar street came in to view and with it, Peter's Nissan.

Peter had to agree, flying was fantastic, and he promised himself he'd make an effort to take Sylar out flying often. Once Alice's building came into view, Peter scoped out the area to make sure there were no people or police around, and then landed in the ally behind the building. He set Sylar down on his feet, dug the keys out of his pocket, and walked to his car. As he was unlocking the car Peter said, "It's been a long day, and we have a long drive home. You might be more comfortable lying down in the back for the ride home."

Sylar yawned silently agreeing with Peter as he more than willingly crawled into the back when Peter opened the back door. Within ten minutes of leaving Alice's street Sylar was dead to the world leaving soft snores in his wake.

As Peter was driving he checked in his rear view mirror every once in a while, and soon saw that Sylar was asleep. He looked very peaceful as he slept. Peter was tired himself, and turned the radio on low to keep himself awake while he drove.

Half an hour later he was home. He parked, got out, and then carefully picked up Sylar, trying not to wake him. Once the car was shut and locked, Peter carried Sylar up to his apartment, and phased the two of them through his door. He lay Sylar down on the couch, thinking that he'd have to do something about a bed for him soon. He took off Sylar's shoes, and knew he had to be exhausted since none of it woke him up.

Going to the small closet, Peter got out a blanket, and covered Sylar up. He thought about going to bed himself, but then decided to sit in the chair next to the couch in case Sylar woke up and tried to escape. As he sat watching Sylar sleep, Peter thought to himself that saving Sylar was going to be just as important as saving his niece had been, but for different reasons.


	14. Blood is Thicker than Water

(In the coming chapters more characters will come into the story. Jet will still be playing Peter and Matt, and will also be playing Noah. I'm playing Sylar, Mohinder and now Nathan as well. I want to say thank you for all the wonderful reviews you guys have left! HUGS AND KISSES YOU ALL! D

Peter was sitting and watching Sylar sleep on the couch when he yawned. He knew he was tired, and he was worried that he'd fall asleep and wake up to an empty apartment. He thought about tying Sylar up, but didn't want to wake him up.

A few minutes later his mind wandered to his brother Nathan. He'd called him earlier to talk, but Nathan had been busy trying to work with his public relations people to cover up the fact that he'd been shot and healed. Nathan had said he'd call back when he was done, but still hadn't. Peter got out his cell phone and dialed Nathan's number.

As usual, Nathan had gotten lost in his work, and when his cell phone rang with Peter's ring tone, he cursed himself for not calling him back sooner. He flipped his phone back answering, "Hey Pete, sorry I didn't call back sooner; you know how it is around here."

"Yeah I know; it's okay. Do you have time to talk now?"

Nathan countered, "Shoot. I'm all ears."

Peter took a deep breath and then couldn't quite figure out how to start. After a pause he said, "I... Well it's a long story. When I came home this morning, I found a little kid on the steps to my apartment. I asked him if he needed some help, and when I read his mind, I realized the kid was Sylar."

Nathan was taken aback sputtering out, "What!? Sylar? Jesus Pete! Why didn't you tell me this when I called earlier?"

It had been a long and tiring day, and Peter didn't have the energy to defend his actions. "Just hold on, I haven't told you all of it yet. If I hadn't been able to read his thoughts, I wouldn't have known it was him. He looks like a seven year old boy. But because I could read his thoughts, I knew he had come to kill me and take my powers. I played along with him at first, and took him to the police station to see Matt. Together Matt, Mohinder, and I all worked out a plan to catch Sylar and we gave him a serum to take his powers away."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone as Nathan processed all this. He then asked, "Did it work? Or did he get away?"

Peter looked over at Sylar with a smile and said, "It worked. His powers are gone, and as it turns out he's stuck in the body of a seven year old for a while. He tried to take someone's power and it backfired when she used it on him. But here's the thing... I'm keeping him."

Nathan was confused, "You what? Keeping him? Pete, what? He's not a pet; you can't just keep him!"

Peter had known this part wasn't going to go over well. "I'm keeping him Nathan. I can't just let him go, and I can't let the company take him. He has no one else, and... he needs me."

Nathan was at a loss; he couldn't believe his brother would be willingly harboring a serial killer. He argued, "Peter listen to me, I know you think it's your mission in life to help everyone you come in contact with, but this man tried to kill you! He's dangerous! I think you need to think about what you're doing here."

"I am thinking about it!" Peter noticed Sylar stirring in his sleep and walked over to the kitchen and lowered his voice. "What better way to save not only Sylar, but all the people he would have otherwise killed, then to keep him here with me? His powers are gone, he can't hurt me, and he's in the body of a kid. Why don't you come see for yourself; he's sleeping on the couch right now."

Nathan looked at his watch and answered, "I'll be there in about six minutes." Nathan clicked the phone shut. He headed out onto the back patio, did a through visual scan across the yard to make sure there were no paparazzi hiding in the bushes, and once he was sure the coast was clear, he zoomed off towards Peter's flat.

Peter turned his phone off and waited for his brother. He wasn't exactly looking forward to the confrontation. He hated it when him and his brother disagreed, but it happened pretty often. He knew his brother worried about him, and wanted him to be safe and happy. But Nathan's version of happy and Peter's version didn't always match up. But at the end of the day he knew that Nathan loved him no matter what, so they could work everything else out.

True to his word, Nathan arrived in about six minutes. He made his way up the two flights of stairs and to Peter's door knocking softly and waiting for Peter to answer.

Peter opened the door and held a finger to his lips to let Nathan know to keep quiet. He opened the door the rest of the way and gestured towards Sylar as he said quietly, "He needs to sleep."

Nathan's eyes followed Peter's gesture to the sleeping form on the couch. His eyes moved around the dimly lit room seeing that Peter was alone he asked in a hushed tone, "Where's Matt and Mohinder?"

"Gone. I told them I was keeping Sylar, and told them to go home." Peter shut the door behind Nathan and said, "It's just us."

Nathan responded with an unenthusiastic, "I see." The two walked into the kitchen so as not to wake Sylar. Once they'd stopped moving again and Peter turned back to face him, Nathan laid a hand on each of Peter's shoulders giving his brother a sincere look as he stated, "I know yelling at you or pushing my ideals on you will only make you more adamant about your stance, but I'm going to ask you in all honesty; now before you answer, seriously consider what I'm saying, do you really think you can handle him?"

Taking Nathan very seriously, Peter looked down for a few seconds and did think about it. He looked back at Nathan and said, "Yes I do, and not just because of his physical state either. I can handle him because I know he feels guilty about what he's done, and I know he wants to change. But even if I didn't think I could handle him, I'd still want to try, because I just don't have any other option that will let me sleep at night. He has no one else."

Nathan considered what Peter had said before responding, "Okay then. If you really think you can make a difference then I believe you can to. But I want you to promise me that if you ever need any help with him you'll come to me. Can you promise me that?"

Smiling Peter said, "I promise, and since you brought it up, I could really use your help right now. I need some sleep, but I'm worried about falling asleep, and waking up to find the apartment empty. Do you think you could stay here for a few hours while I slept? Help me make sure Sylar doesn't wander off?"

Nathan gave Peter a small smile and a nod responding, "I can tell you've had quite a day." He glanced back over at Sylar on the couch and added, "Well if he's going to be staying here with you, you can't leave him to sleep on your couch. We've got some of the boy's old mattresses in storage. I can have a bed sent over tomorrow afternoon. Is there anything else you think you might need for him?"

Grateful to his brother for the support, Peter gave Nathan a quick hug and said, "Thank you."

He pulled away with a smile and said, "A bed would be a big help. I can't think of anything else he needs right now. I already had Heidi send over some of your kid's old clothes for him."

Nathan hugged Peter back happy to help out his brother. His eyebrows crinkled in dismay, "Heidi sent over some of the boy's old clothes? She never told me that." He waved off the fact bringing his attention back to Peter as he said, "I don't have anywhere to be so go get yourself some sleep."

Peter nodded and headed to the bedroom. He turned around and said, "Wake me up if you have any problems, or if Sylar needs me for anything."

Nathan responded, "Will do." He watched Peter disappear down the hall and into his bedroom as he made his way into the living room to sit down in the recliner across from the couch Sylar was currently sleeping. He studied him awed by the fact that the seemingly helpless looking boy in front of him contained the most wanted man in the city. He let out a sigh as he grabbed a magazine from off the coffee table settling back into the recliner and said to himself, "I really hope you know what you're getting yourself into Peter."

Peter took off his shoes and his jeans before flopping down into his bed. He fell asleep within minutes, exhausted from the past couple of days.

Peter woke up to the smell of coffee. He opened one eye and saw that it was light out. He looked at his alarm clock which read nine AM. He got up and walked into the living room in his tee-shirt and boxers to check on Sylar and Nathan. He was a little surprised to find that Sylar was still asleep on the couch. But then he thought that quicker then normal growth would probably really wear a person out. He walked into the kitchen and saw Nathan having some coffee. "Did you make enough for me too?"

Nathan smiled replying, "Of course." He gestured towards the coffee pot that was half full. He added, "Forgive my rudeness, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get back before any reporters start looking for answers as what state I'm in."

Peter went over and poured himself a cup of coffee as he said, "Thanks again for coming over to stay the night. I'll talk to you later."

Nathan downed the last of his coffee and set his cup in the sink. He walked into the living room responding as he turned to open the door and leave, "No problem Peter, just remember what I said about asking for help alright?" He motioned to the still sleeping Sylar and said, "If you think you can keep him under control, why don't you two come out to dinner with me this Sunday. I'd like to see you."

Peter swallowed a sip of coffee and said, "I'd like that. I'll call you Sunday and let you know for sure."

Nathan left and Peter went into his room to get some sweat pants. A few minutes later he was sitting on the chair next to the couch, drinking coffee, and waiting for Sylar to wake up.


	15. Independence

It was nearing fifteen past ten when Sylar finally stirred from a dreamless sleep never the wiser that Nathan had ever been there. He blinked his eyes wiping away the sleep as he sat up giving the room a bleary glance as if forgetting for a moment where he was. His eyes settled on Peter and he yawned, "Morning."

"Morning. How did you sleep?"

Sylar wasn't fully awake yet as he stretched his arms high in the air and inhaled deeply before responding, "To tell you the truth, I don't remember anything past that crap you call music in your car last night," Sylar teased giving Peter a smirk.

Peter laughed at that and then said, "There's some coffee left if you want it, or I think I might have some tea up in the cupboard."

Sylar smiled at the thought of coffee, "That sounds terrific." He lumbered into the kitchen towards the coffee pot. He frowned as he stared up at it and then over to the cupboard that held the coffee cups. Instead of asking for help, he grabbed the step stool that he saw had been folded up in between the refrigerator and the kitchen wall. And with painstaking effort opened and locked the stool into place for him to use. He didn't look over in Peter's direction as he climbed the stool even though he was sure Peter was watching him. He didn't want to feel helpless and wanted to prove that he was capable of doing this on his own.

Peter leaned against the doorframe and watched Sylar. He shook his head thinking Sylar was going to have to learn how to ask for help. Peter casually said, "I wonder if you'll notice a difference in what the caffeine does to you with your current metabolism."

Sylar feeling confident in his current mastery of his surroundings grabbed a cup from the cupboard laying it on the counter. He answered Peter as he climbed down the stool's steps, "I guess I'll find out soon enough won't I?" Sylar hoped off the last step to land in front of the coffee pot. Peter had looked like he was about to move into the kitchen and grab the pot for him, and Sylar was determined to beat Peter from making that action.

In his haste to pick up the coffee pot and the fact this body was still strange and awkward the pot twisted in his hand and even though he didn't drop the pot, the pot's weight swung itself to scorch his forearm. He sucked back the hiss of pain that threatened to escape and continued back towards his cup hoping Peter hadn't noticed he'd burned himself.

Having seen enough, Peter walked over and easily took the coffee pot out of Sylar's hand, even though Sylar was trying to keep a hold of it. He poured some coffee into the cup, put the coffee pot back in its holder and said, "Let me see your arm."

The act of having the coffee pot wrestled out of his hand and the task of pouring his coffee taken for him infuriated Sylar. He pursed his lips angrily before crossing his arms defiantly against Peter's instruction as he growled, "My arm is fine; you didn't have to do that. I don't need you to do everything for me!"

"It's going to take you a while to adjust to your new body. There's no shame in letting someone help you." Peter held out his hand, "Let me see your arm."

Sylar looked down at Peter's extended hand, and letting out a deflated sigh, he grumbled, "Fine." He hesitantly retracted his arm from his body to reveal the red mark swelling into a blister.

Peter winced in sympathy and said, "Ouch." He got the step stool and put it in front of the sink. After turning on the cold water he said, "Come put your arm under the water, and I'll go grab some burn ointment."

Sylar silently obeyed as he thought bitterly, 'Nice. In trying to show I'm independent, I'm left looking even more helpless.'

Peter, being in the nursing field, had a large first aid kit in the bathroom. He got out some ointment that would help keep the skin from drying out, some gauze and some tape. He went back and put the stuff on the counter. He looked at his watch and said, "You need to keep your arm under the cold water for about fifteen minutes."

He walked over, grabbed Sylar's coffee, and handed it to him to drink while he held his arm under the water.

Sylar mumbled a small, "Thanks," as he concentrated his attention to his coffee cup sipping on the hot liquid.

Peter thought to himself, 'Well that wasn't the best start to the day. Let's try this again.'

He said, "I have the next couple of days off work, so I thought we should take the time to get to know each other a little better. I don't have much in the house for breakfast, so after we're both dressed, we can go to the little diner that's a block away and talk about our plans for the next couple of days."

Sylar nodded in agreement, "That sounds pretty good." He finished his coffee rinsing the cup out with the water that was still splaying across his burn and set the cup down in the sink.

Peter left Sylar in the kitchen with the water running and went into his bedroom to get dressed for the day. Once he was done, he went back to the kitchen and looked at his watch. He picked up the ointment and said, "Times up, does it feel any better?"

Sylar shut the water off looking at the small strip of burnt flesh and nodded giving a small, "Yes." He dried his arm on his shirt and added, "I don't think I need all that though. It's not that bad. Really."

Peter took Sylar's arm and started putting the ointment on as he said, "It would probably heal just fine without it, but I'll feel better about it this way."

He put a patch of gauze over the ointment, and put some tape on to hold it in place. Once he was done he let Sylar's arm go and said, "Go find some clothes that fit, and we'll walk over to the diner."

Sylar watched Peter apply the ointment and bandage to his arm thinking, 'I'm really going to have to get used to this having no say even when it comes to my own health. At least he let me have coffee. That's something anyway.' Sylar climbed down from the stool and went back into the living room grabbing up a set of clothes he was pretty sure would fit and brought them into the bathroom to change.

Once Sylar came out of the bathroom dressed for the day, Peter opened the door to the apartment and said, "There's an unopened toothbrush in the top shelf next to the sink. I'll get it down for you and put it on the sink when we get back."

Sylar smiled happy to be leaving the apartment and getting out onto the city streets. He walked outside and waited for Peter to lock the door before skipping down the stairs. He felt energetic and rubbery. He thought, 'This being young again isn't too bad; I haven't felt this physically good in years!' By the time he got to the bottom of the first flight of stairs he beamed happily back up at Peter feeling slightly giddy from the effects of the coffee and bounding so quickly down the stairs.

Peter smiled back as he took the stairs at a more casual speed. He thought to himself, 'Looks like caffeine has the same affect on Sylar that it does on Monty and Simon.'

Once they got outside, Peter looked up at the sky and said, "It's a beautiful day. We could go to the pier today after breakfast."

Sylar was enjoying the day as well, the weather was starting to change with the beginnings of Fall touching the morning air with a slight crispness enough to cool but not be cold yet. He grinned as he thought, 'Dad used to bring me to the pier to feed the ducks before he died,' It was a pleasant memory that he enjoyed remembering as he replied, "It's been a long time since I've been to the pier. That sounds nice."

"Okay, that will be the plan then," Peter decided.


	16. The Diner

A few minutes later they arrived at the diner. The two of them went in and a plump middle aged waitress came over. She smiled and said, "Two?"

Peter nodded. She gathered some menus and led Peter and Sylar to a booth. As soon as they were seated she handed Peter a regular menu, and then put a kids menu in front of Sylar. She dug a couple of crayons out of the pocket of her apron and smiled sweetly at Sylar as she said, "There you go honey." She then turned to Peter and asking, "Can I get the two of you something to drink?"

Peter was busy looking at his menu and said, "Water for me."

The waitress looked at Sylar to get his answer.

Sylar slightly miffed by the crayons and kid's menu gave the woman a very serious glare pushing the crayons back towards her and replying, "Thanks, but I don't color. Coffee please, two creams."

Peter looked up from his menu, suddenly aware of Sylar's irritation.

The waitress laughed and said, "Coffee? Coffee will stunt your growth. How about some nice hot chocolate?"

Trying to smooth things over Peter jumped in and stressed the word 'seven' as he said, "Yeah Gabriel, you don't want to be the only seven year old in here without a cup of hot chocolate do you?"

Sylar turned his glare on Peter and formed a darkening smirk as he replied curtly, "Well, I'm not like other _seven_ year olds, and I want coffee."

Peter glared back and then turned to the waitress with a fake smile, "He'll have water as well."

She gave them both a confused and somewhat concerned look as she nodded and walked away. Peter leaned towards Sylar and said quietly, "One cup a day is more then enough for your body mass."

Sylar countered, "So not only are you going to have control over where I go and what I do with my time, but now you're telling me that you're also going to have say over little things like how much coffee I consume?! I think I can decide for myself how much coffee is enough."

Peter had to think about that for a few seconds. 'I don't want to be fighting with him every day about little things. We'll have enough to fight about as it is. And if he has a bunch of coffee, he'll find out for himself that his body can't take it.' Peter nodded slowly and said, "You're right, I'm sorry. When she comes back you can get whatever you want."

Peter went back to looking at his menu to decide what he wanted.

Sylar happy with his small victory smiled smugly when the woman returned with his water. He was about to order a coffee for himself but his taste for it was gone after the fight it'd caused. When the waitress caught his eye he remarked softly, "I want the sausage, two eggs over easy breakfast with an orange juice."

She wrote down Sylar's order and turned towards Peter to collect his order.

Peter was surprised but pleased that Sylar had decided not to get the coffee. He turned to the waitress and said, "I'll have a cheese omelet with whole wheat toast."

Once the waitress was gone Peter looked at Sylar and said, "After the pier I thought we could go to the book store and get you a few books to read. And then we should probably go to the store and get some food to have in the house."

Sylar's eyes softened as he thought, 'I acted like such a jerk, and he's still willing to do nice things to try and make me happy.' He gave Peter a half smile feeling he owed him an apology for embarrassing him in front of their waitress as he responded, "I'm sorry I was a little crabby there. Guess I need to learn to check my attitude a little. It's not a justification or a real excuse, but it is what it is. I want you to know that it means a lot to me that you want to take up time with me going places like the pier and bringing me to the book store to get me books to read. I do notice and am grateful for the fact that you're really trying to make my life comfortable. I don't really deserve your kindness, but you give it anyway… so for what it's worth… thanks."

Peter was amazed that Sylar was both apologizing, and that he was saying thanks for the things Peter was trying to do for him. "Apology accepted. It's only your second day like this, and I know it's going to take some getting used to especially dealing with the people around you who will treat you like you're seven. Try to keep in mind that they're not trying to be patronizing, and they're certainly not trying to make you angry, they just don't know how old you actually are."

Peter smiled as he said, "And you're right I am going to try and make your life with me comfortable. Making you miserable every day won't help rehabilitate you, it will only make you angry and resentful. But I suppose I have some selfish motivation in there too. I like going to the pier and the book store. I think we'll have a good time."

Sylar brightened at Peter's words. Peter had a weird way of wording things in a way to make him feel like everything was going to be all right. He replied, "I think we'll have a good time to." Their waitress came by their table to drop off silverware and his orange juice remarking that their meal would be up shortly before returning on her rounds. Once she was gone, Sylar asked cheerfully, "So tell me Peter, what is it _you_ like to do with your time?"

After thinking for a minute Peter said, "I love reading, I like doing things outside like hiking and bike riding. But for the past few months I've spent most all of my time trying to perfect my emerging abilities. I've met quite a few people recently who've helped me with that, and I'd like to think that I've helped them too while we worked together to figure out how we're all connected."

Sylar thought about what Peter said, 'I wonder how many evolved humans you know Peter, and I wonder what kind of powers they have?' Sylar's eyes grew more intense as he leaned in close and asked curiously, "You think all the powers out there are connected somehow? You said emerging abilities; like how? How do your powers work?"

Peter didn't want Sylar to know exactly how his powers worked, at least not until they'd had some time to get to know each other and bond. He focused on the first couple of questions. "How many do I know? I haven't stopped to count before, let me think."

As Peter was mentally counting, their food arrived. Once the waitress was gone again Peter said, "I've personally met ten, but I know of quite a few more. But then you do too, because you've seen Mohinder's list."

He took a bite of his breakfast and then said, "I do think we're all connected. Not just genetically, but also by fate. There has to be a reason behind all of it, and I believe that together we're all going to change the world for the better."

Smiling he said, "My brother would say I was talking nonsense. He's not much of a believer in fate or destiny; he'd say it was all random. Maybe it just seems more connected to me, because my brother is one of us, and the cheerleader you tried to kill is my niece."

Peter lost his smile and said, "But then you've killed or tried to kill quite a few of the evolved humans I know of. Maybe we shouldn't talk about this anymore today."

Sylar frowned at the reminder of being a serial killer as he thought, 'I tried to kill his niece? That must be Clair. I shouldn't have asked that question.' He unwrapped his silverware and straightened his back so he could see over his plate. He was glad Peter had decided to drop the conversation since it left him feeling awkward and confused as to whether he should be mad or ashamed by his previous actions and his place in the world now. He didn't respond instead choosing to look away and bring his attention to buttering his toast.

Peter concentrated on the food in front of him for a while, as conflicting emotions went through him. When he thought about Clair and the other people that Sylar had both tried to kill, and had succeeded in killing, he got angry. But then when he looked at the kid in front of him and read his thoughts, he was happy that Sylar had come to him, so that he could change him for the better.

It was a somewhat uncomfortably silent meal, but once they were done eating, and the check had arrived, Peter was ready to move past it. Once he had paid, and the two of them were standing outside the diner, Peter said, "What's your favorite thing to do at the pier?"

Sylar was just as glad as Peter that breakfast was over and they had left the restaurant. The conversation had left him feeling depressed and alienated as he wondered how he'd let himself sink into such a state that he actually believed he was entitled to kill another person. He'd told himself that they were broken and undeserving of their power, and he should have claim to their power because he was evolved enough to understand it. When he'd lost his powers, all he cared about was getting back on top, being special again. Now, he wanted the memories of what he'd done wiped from his mind, so he wouldn't have to face the actions he'd allowed himself to justify as acceptable. Peter's question brought him out of his head as he thought about the ducks again. He just shrugged instead of admitting this and responded, "Just being there I guess."

Peter had been involved with his own thoughts during breakfast, and hadn't been listening to Sylar's thoughts. But he could tell that Sylar wasn't happy with himself. Peter heard Sylar think 'ducks' in answer to his question, but then give a different verbal answer. He wasn't sure if Sylar was trying to punish himself by not being honest about what he liked, or if he just didn't want Peter to know. Peter looked around and said, "I don't know about you, but I don't want to take the time to drive there. Do you want me to fly us?"

The thought of soaring through the air again was very appealing and Sylar brightened at the mention of it. But, he also thought of the fact that it was around 11:30AM and crooked an eyebrow at Peter asking, "Won't that be a little dangerous in the day time?"

Peter answered with a playful smile on his face, "Definitely. Let's live dangerously."

Sylar smirked as he responded, "Lead the way."


	17. Out and About

Peter headed them back to his apartment and said, "The roof is always good for coming and going. Most people don't look up unless they hear something. And I know the roof of my apartment is empty most of the time."

A few minutes later they had walked the couple of blocks back to the apartment and gone up the stairs to the roof. Peter picked Sylar up like last time with one hand behind his back and one under his legs, and flew them up high into the sky. He circled the pier area a few times looking for the best place to land. He decided to land on the roof of a motel room a few blocks away from the most populated area of the pier. He set Sylar down on his feet and said, "Much better then driving don't you think?"

Flying with Peter was like being on a roller coaster with none of the jarring shock of the machinery; it was fluid like swimming, but free of water's encompassing weight. This flight was even better than last night's. He was amazed looking down at the world from this perspective and couldn't help the small giggle of glee that escaped when they circled the pier. The flight had cheered him up, and as they landed, Sylar looked up delightedly at Peter responding to his question, "It's not even in the same league."

Peter smiled in agreement and walked to the door that was on the roof. It was locked, so he used his telekinesis to unlock it, and together they made their way down to the bottom floor of the motel and out the door. They walked towards the more populated pier area side by side and Peter said, "What do you want to do first?"

Sylar always loved the feeling and the sounds of the wind whipping off the water's edge and replied, "Let's walk to the end of the pier. I like to look at the water, and it's usually quiet there."

"Okay." Peter and Sylar walked down the pier together. They got to the end and the two of them stood near the edge looking out into the water. After a few minutes of silence Peter said, "It's peaceful here. I can see why you'd like it."

Sylar leaned in between the rails of the fence staring out at how the sun shimmered on the waves as he responded, "It's one of the few places in the city that you don't feel sucked in to the go, go, hastiness that surrounds you. It's almost as if time stands still, just for a little bit, so you can stop and catch your breath."

Nodding Peter stared out at the water too. After a few minutes of quiet he said, "When I look out at the water I'm always wondering what's going on under the surface. Wishing I could see through to the bottom to watch all the plants and animal down there."

He chuckled and said, "But then maybe I'd just be able to see a bunch of garbage and litter down there. That would take away from the peacefulness."

Sylar laughed, "Yea, knowing this city, I don't think I'd want to see what's under this water!" Sylar was really enjoying himself, and since they had been standing at the water's edge, the local ducks had made their way over to them in search of food. Sylar had noticed a few kernels of popcorn on the ground and had leaned down to throw the tid bits into the water for them as he said, "My dad and I used to come here when I was younger. It was one of the few places he ever found peace since running the shop took a lot out of him." He mentally added, 'along with my mom's constant nagging.'

Peter was pleased that Sylar was opening up a little about his family. He noticed Sylar tossing some popcorn into the water and said, "Do you want to go buy a bag of that to feed the ducks?"

Sylar's smile grew impossibly big at the mention of feeding the ducks as he responded, "That'd be great; I love feeding the ducks. It's something I haven't done in a long time." Sylar wondered why his emotions tended to bounce up and down now. Whether good or bad, they seemed hard to control at times. His body seemed to want to react before his mind, but he just wrote these reactions up to the influx of hormones going through his body. These ponderings made him worry about how many more physical and mental changes he'd have to look forward to due to his new body.

Thinking that Sylar sounded very much like one of his nephews in that moment, Peter said with a smile, "Then we'll have to do it. What kind of food do you usually get them? Bread, popcorn, or something else?"

Sylar spun to the left where the popcorn vender's cart was perched and pointed towards the cart, "Popcorn would be perfect; there's a guy selling some right over there."

"Okay." Peter walked over and paid for some popcorn. He handed the paper bag to Sylar. He watched with a smile on his face while Sylar tossed a few pieces at a time to the ducks who were all gathered together in the water watching where the popcorn bits were being thrown.

Sylar took his time feeding the ducks, and when he'd thrown the last couple kernels into the water, he turned his attention back to Peter with a beaming smile as he said, "I really enjoyed that. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Peter looked down the pier towards the more populated area and said, "You wanna walk down there and see what there is to see? I don't know if it's still there, but further down near the shops there used to be an area where people could play chess. Some of the people who play are fun to watch. Or if a table were open we could play."

Washington Square Park was right up the street from the pier, and many master chess players had been known to play there for money. Sylar had observed their skills before, and he fancied himself a seasoned player. It'd been quite a while since he had played any chess, but he looked forward to seeing Peter's skills as he responded, "I always enjoy a good chess challenge. Although, you're likely to get embarrassed getting beaten by what everyone is going to see as a little kid," he teased.

Peter chuckled as he started walking in the direction of Washington Square Park and Sylar fell in step beside him. "I don't embarrass that easily, and you may not win."

Since Peter had found out the kid on his steps was Sylar, he'd been keeping his mind open to reading Sylar's thoughts. But as they walked to the Park he stopped actively listening in, knowing it would make for an unfair game.

Sylar smirked replying, "I guess we'll just see about that won't we?" Within ten minutes time, the two were walking up to the many chess tables where only one player was waiting for a challenger. He looked up at Peter and remarked, "One of us will have to beat him in order to get the table. So who's it going to be?"

"You go ahead. I'll watch." Peter doubted Sylar would decide to take off while Peter was playing, but he didn't want put all of his focus and attention on a chess game with someone else and find Sylar missing when it was over.

Sylar beamed excited to show off his skills as he approached the portly man sitting at the concrete table. The man smiled at Sylar's approach and when he sat in the seat across from him the man asked, "So you like chess do ya sonny?"

Sylar grinned responding, "I've always been a fan of a game of tactics."

The man raised his hand up to shake Sylar's, "The name's Jimmy."

Sylar shook his hand responding, "My name's …Gabriel."

Jimmy nodded, "Well then Gabriel, why don't ya show me what you've got."

Jimmy was good, but he'd made the mistake of not taking Sylar seriously and was caught in a queen's gambit with in the first six moves.

Jimmy shook his head in disbelief, "Well dang. You're pretty good for a kid!"

Sylar scoffed, "I'm pretty good for any age."

Jimmy chuckled answering, "That you are Gabriel. How about another game? I'll make it a little more difficult for you this time."

Sylar smirked answering, "Actually I already have a challenger waiting." His eyes drifted over to Peter.

Jimmy nodded, "Fair enough. Maybe next game," he said as he vacated his spot gathering up his coffee and backpack and moving on to challenge another player.

Pleased with Sylar for remembering to call himself Gabriel, Peter watched him playing chess with the older man. He was impressed with Sylar's skill, and knew he'd have to concentrate on the game if he had any chance of winning. He sat down and said, "You're good. Let's see if you're good enough to win.

Sylar reset the board and gave Peter a confident grin as he remarked, "You should be asking yourself that question."

Sylar took white since Peter was the challenger, and the game proceeded. Peter really was quite good and a half an hour later more than half of Sylar's pieces had been taken. Peter had played a defensive game where Sylar had been the aggressor. Both had done well to guard their kings in the beginning, and when Sylar had thought he'd pinned Peter's king in the corner, he'd let his guard down moving in for the death blow, but he had over looked a pawn that Peter had placed as a set up to bring his bishop in to flank his knight. The move had left Sylar impotent in his attack causing him to back peddle and in the process lose his queen. He'd not defended properly and soon realized he'd lose the game due to his impetuous decisions.

Sylar frowned in frustration as Peter pinned his king into check mate. He let out a huff of indignation hating to lose any challenge especially to Peter as he grumbled, "You got lucky this time."

"Lucky huh? I guess we'll have to see if my luck runs out next time." Peter was pleased that he had won, but it had been a challenge. He knew it would be fun to play again since they were fairly evenly matched for skill level. Peter looked at his watch and said, "We should probably head to the book store before it gets too late. I have a chess board at home if you want to play again tonight."

Sylar nodded getting up from his seat as he replied, "I could go for another round tonight." Sylar stared up at the sky it had to be around 2PM by now; he had been looking forward to going to the bookstore all day. He glanced back over his shoulder and gave Peter a smile as he asked, "How far away is the bookstore?"

Peter started walking away from the park and towards the street. "The one I usually go to is closer to my apartment then here." Peter looked around at all the people walking around and said, "We should take a cab."


	18. Winding Down

They got to the sidewalk and Peter waved down a cab. He gave the driver the address and soon they were on their way. Once the cab was moving Peter said, "You can get whatever you want at the bookstore, but your budget is fifty bucks."

Sylar grinned thinking, 'Fifty dollars huh? That can buy me lot of books.' The cab ride took about twenty minutes, and Sylar sat up to look out the window to get a good idea of where they were going. They pulled up to a used bookstore called Wild Iris. Peter paid the cab fare and the two walked into the store. Within moments, Sylar was lost in the myriad of choices available in the used book area. He wanted to get the most bang for Peter's buck.

Peter tried not to be overly obvious about keeping track of Sylar. He picked out a couple of science fiction books for himself while making sure Sylar was never more then one isle away from him. Once he had his books in his hands, he leaned against the end of an isle and started reading one of them.

Sylar was so immersed in his search that he hadn't even noticed Peter keeping an eye on him. He pulled several varieties of books off the shelf, a few were how to books, more than half of them dealt with genetics and anomalies in science, and the rest were entertaining fictional works that he'd always enjoyed such as Moby Dick, 1984, Watership Down, and a condensed volume of H.P. Lovecraft's collected works. He had brought them up to the counter as he'd found them, and upon reaching his allotted cash limit, he stood by the counter and peered over at Peter. His nose was buried in the book he planned on purchasing, so figuring Peter's mind was elsewhere, Sylar spoke up, "I'm pretty sure I've reached my fifty dollar limit, but if I went over, I can put one of the how to books back."

Peter dog eared the page he was on and closed his book. "As long as it's close it's fine."

He took his three books up to the counter, added them to Sylar's stack, and caught the cashier's attention. "We're ready."

The cashier rang them up while giving Sylar a few curious glances as she noticed the books he'd picked out. While she was waiting for Peter's credit card to be approved she turned to Sylar and asked, "Did you pick all those books out for yourself or someone else?"

Sylar's expression turned dark as he thought, 'Yes, you dumb cow; you just saw me thumbing through these books and bringing them up to you one by one.' Sylar glanced up at Peter remembering the diner, and not wanting to cause another scene only remarked, "I'm well read."

Pleased to see Sylar keeping his temper in check, Peter put a hand on Sylar's shoulder and said to the cashier, "We're in a hurry."

The cashier nodded and handed Peter his receipt to sign. As soon as it was signed Peter grabbed the bags and headed out the door. Once they were out of the shop he hailed a cab and said to Sylar, "We'll go back to the apartment to put these books away and then go to the store."

Sylar was tired and just wanted to stay home and read some of his new books, but responded half-heartedly, "okay."

Peter didn't really want to do the shopping, he just thought they should. So when he heard Sylar's tone of voice, he took advantage of the opportunity and said, "You don't sound very enthusiastic about it. We could just stay home, order in some Chinese food for dinner, and get the groceries tomorrow."

Sylar was grateful that Peter had suggested doing the shopping tomorrow as he replied, "That sounds great, it's been a long day, and after everything that's happened the past few days a little down time to relax sounds good."

"I agree."

The cab pulled up to Peter's apartment building. Peter paid the driver, grabbed the bags, and headed in with Sylar beside him. Once they were in the apartment, Peter grabbed the book he had started to read in the store, and sat down to read for a while. Before he opened the book he said, "Let me know when you get hungry, and we'll order the food."

Sylar blushed responding, "I'm already starving again. I guess I'm going to end up eating you out of house and home with the rate of my metabolism." Peter ordered them Chinese, and within less than twenty minutes there was a knocking at the door. When Peter answered, Sylar was surprised to see the delivery man had a clip board as he informed Peter that he had a twin bed downstairs scheduled for delivery to his apartment.

After signing for the bed Peter turned to Sylar and said, "My brother got it for you. Come on in the bedroom and help me decide where to put it."

Peter wasn't sure if he was happy to be sharing his bedroom or not. He knew Sylar needed to be close to him so he could keep an eye on him, and he didn't exactly have any other options since it was a one bedroom apartment, but having no privacy could get old fast. They walked into the bedroom and Peter looked around. It was a fairly big bedroom and there would be room to put a twin bed in. Peter said, "If we shift my bed over to the right you can be by the window, or if we shift it to the left you can be by the bookshelf."

Sylar followed Peter into the bedroom and examined the room's dimensions before deciding he'd rather be placed by the bookshelf, "I think right over here is fine," he said pointing to the vacant area next to the shelves.

Sylar watched Peter adjust the furniture into their new locations and put a pair of the sheets that had been delivered with the bed on to the mattress. Sylar smirked at the race cars depicted on the sheets as he looked up at Peter and remarked, "You'll have to tell your brother thanks, this'll be a lot more comfortable then the couch."

"Maybe you can tell him yourself the next time we see him. I'm close to my brother, so you'll probably be seeing him a lot."

As he was looking for a quilt to put over the sheets there was another knock on the door. The Chinese food had come. He paid the delivery person and put the food on the table. He got out a couple of plates, handed one to Sylar and said, "Looks good. I got a lot; I hope you like it left over the next day too."

Sylar's mouth watered as Peter dished out portions for each of them. He responded, "I've got no problem eating left over Chinese." He climbed up in his chair sitting on his knees rocking back forth and waiting expectantly for Peter to finish serving as he asked, "So what are you going to tell your family about me?" He thought, 'I'm sure they'll just be thrilled.'

Peter finished putting the food on plates and sat down to eat beside Sylar. He said, "Nathan already knows who you are and why you're staying here. He wasn't exactly happy about it, but he knows me well enough to know that once I set my mind on something there's not much he can do to change it. I'm not sure what I'm going to tell everyone else."

He paused to take a few bites thinking it over. "I'll tell my sister-in-law Heidi the truth, but my nephews are too young to know. I don't know what to tell my mom or Clair. Do you have any suggestions?"

Sylar was surprised that Peter had told anyone who he really was, and he wasn't sure how that made him feel. Truthfully, he would have rather not anyone know his true identity. It was embarrassing to be in this state when others looking on knew the truth. He thought, 'I don't want to tell them anything. This is already a weird enough situation.' He responded, "I don't know. Maybe you should just keep me a secret."

Peter had to agree. He didn't really want to tell his mom or Clair the truth, knowing they would both react badly. But he wasn't that great at lying either. "I am signed up to be a foster parent. We could say you were placed here by the state... but then they'd expect you to be in school. Maybe we should just avoid telling them for as long as possible."

Sylar nodded in agreement, "That sounds like a good idea. I sure the hell don't want to repeat going to school." Sylar shook his head distastefully at the thought.

Smiling Peter said, "Going back to school would be more of a punishment then being given to the company I think. Can you imagine trying to fit in with other seven year olds, and having the teacher try and show you how to read and write your letters?"

Sylar rolled his eyes responding, "I think you couldn't be more right." He gave Peter a semi-serious look before adding, "Don't get any ideas."

Peter laughed at that, and then turned serious. "But if you don't go to school, then you'll have to come with me. I'll have to call into work tomorrow and let them know you'll be coming with me on Monday. We have to have something to tell them. We could tell them you were one of my nephews."

Sylar agreed, "I think I can manage hanging out with you and some old folks all day verses a gaggle of seven year olds."

"That will be the plan then."

After they both finished eating and putting away the leftover food, they both spent most of the night reading their new books. Around ten o'clock Peter started to yawn and said, "Go get ready for bed, and then you can read in bed for a while if you want."

Sylar sighed thinking, 'Great. I'm going to have a bed time now? This sucks.' He didn't say anything and instead scowled and did what he was told since he didn't want to have his reading privilege taken away when he was halfway through his chapter.

Peter watched Sylar head back towards the bathroom, pleased that he'd complied instead of arguing. Once Sylar was done and had climbed in bed, Peter locked up and got ready for bed himself. Taking his book to bed with him when he was done, Peter hoped Sylar would fall asleep soon, because he didn't trust him enough to fall asleep first yet.

Sylar fought to stay awake, but his determination was beaten out by the day's activities and his body using up mass amounts of energy. He'd barely been able to read the twelve remaining pages of his chapter before laying his head sleepily on his book and drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Peter finished his chapter and looked over at Sylar to find him asleep. Peter went and pulled the book out from under Sylar's head, marked the page, and set in on the foot of the bed. He turned out the lights and went to sleep himself.


	19. Bonding

The next morning Peter woke up early and checked to make sure Sylar was still in bed asleep. He went to the bathroom, and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. When it was ready, he poured two cups of it, put them on the table, and then went back to the bedroom. He called out, "Sylar. Time to wake up."

Sylar blinked blearily before rolling back over with a groaned, "Just a little longer."

Smiling at that Peter went back out to the kitchen poured Sylar's coffee back into the pot to keep warm, and sat down to drink his own coffee. Once his coffee was gone, he took a shower and got dressed for the day while thinking about the things he had to get done. Once he was ready, he went back over to Sylar and gently shook his shoulder as he said, "Time to get up."

Sylar yawned turning around to face Peter bright eyes shining as he said cheerfully, "Good morning sunshine."

Peter was amazed at the difference half an hour could make, and made a note to himself to make sure Sylar went to bed early enough to get at least eight or nine hours of sleep each night. He figured Sylar's accelerated growth rate would make sleep very important. "Want some coffee?"

Sylar sat up with a big smile and said, "That sounds marvelous." He hoped out of bed with a spring in his step feeling more energized than he had in years. He spun back around to face Peter and asked, "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

As Peter answered he walked into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee for Sylar. "I need to call work while you drink your coffee and get ready for the day. Then we'll have to go to the diner for breakfast again since we didn't go shopping yesterday. Eventually we'll have to do some grocery shopping today, but I thought it would be fun to go see a movie or two first."

Sylar met Peter back at the table for his coffee and turned to Peter with a delighted smile responding, "I haven't been to a movie in over a year. What's playing?"

"I'm not sure let's see."

Peter got out his laptop to look up what movies were playing. Once he had the local theater up he said, "We could see Awake, Hitman, August Rush, Beowulf, or Enchanted. There are a few others out, but those are the only ones I'd be interested in seeing. Any of those sound good to you?"

Peter turned the laptop so that Sylar could see the descriptions of the movies.

Sylar glanced over the movie selections thinking, 'There's no way I'm going to see Enchanted, and Hitman might cause another awkward moment like at the diner yesterday.' Sylar pondered a moment longer before voicing, "Beowulf looks good, and I'm not too familiar with Awake or August Rush since I haven't seen a trailer for either."

"Beowulf sounds good to me too." Peter turned the laptop back to himself and looked at the times.

"The early showing is at eleven thirty." He looked at his watch and said, "That should work. Go ahead and have your coffee while I call the office."

Sylar nodded and using both hands sipped his coffee. He watched Peter go into the living room and get on the phone. Peter had gotten the paper delivered, and the pages had been splayed out on the table. While Peter made arrangements for Sylar to join him at work, Sylar read the headlines about Peter's brother being released from the hospital after being shot. Sylar hadn't seen much of Peter's brother Nathan, and he wondered if he and Peter had similar powers. He heard the phone click as Peter hung up the receiver and took that as his cue to put his empty cup in the sink and go into the bathroom to brush his teeth, shower, and get ready to go.

While Sylar was in the shower Peter looked over his work schedule for the next week, and looked up a couple of addresses for some new clients. Once Sylar was done getting ready for the day, the two of them walked to the diner. It was crowded and they had to wait for a table. As they were waiting Peter sighed and said, "We need to remember to buy some breakfast foods when we buy groceries later. I don't usually eat breakfast on work days, but I'm sure your body will need something to start the day with. Other then coffee that is."

Sylar smirked at Peter's comment responding, "No, coffee breakfasts aren't exactly great starts to a morning. But luckily for you, I'm a big egg fan, and I make a mean omelet." He licked his lips as their waitress placed a stack of pancakes in front of him and placed a country fried steak breakfast with sausage gravy in front of Peter. Sylar's eyebrow rose curiously looking over at Peter's plate as he remarked, "I think I may have ordered the wrong breakfast; I'll have to remember to try that next time we come to eat here."

Peter couldn't help but think Sylar couldn't even reach the stove, and even with a step stool, he wasn't sure he wanted Sylar trying it and getting hurt. But he kept his thoughts to himself, smiled and said, "It does look good," pushing his plate towards Sylar he asked, "Did you want to try a bite?"

Sylar beamed responding, "Don't mind if I do." He pulled the plate up neatly against his stack of pancakes and proceeded to carefully move his stack over so that the slice of gravy covered fried steak he'd taken would not mix. Once done he pushed Peter's plate back to him and asked, "Do you want one of my pancakes?"

"No thanks, I'm not in the mood for sugar this morning."

The two ate in companionable silence for a while. When they were both close to done Peter looked at his watch and said, "Did you want to walk to the theater? That would put us there right about time. I'm pretty full so a long walk sounds good to me, but it's roughly two miles away, and you may not be up for such a long walk."

Sylar thought about the healing blisters on his feet from a couple days earlier but was self-assured that they were healed enough to walk two miles. Sylar answered, "Two miles is nothing. Besides, it's a really nice day for a walk, and we'll be sitting in the theater for over an hour once we get there."

Peter waved the waitress over, got the check and paid for the breakfast. A few minutes later they were walking down the sidewalk towards the theater. Looking around at the clear blue sky Peter said, "You're right; it is a nice day for a walk." Then as an afterthought he added, "But two miles may be too much for you now that each step you take is smaller. If you end up getting tired let me know, and we'll find a bench to take a break, or I can give you a piggy back ride."

Sylar blushed at the thought, 'God, how long has it been since I've gotten a piggy back ride? I can't even remember.' He replied with a laugh, "A piggy back ride? Don't be silly, you and I both know I'm way too old for that! Not saying it wouldn't be fun though." Sylar was enjoying Peter's company more and more. Peter amused and puzzled him at the same time. Sylar had wanted to hate him and was still slightly jealous of his many abilities, but he found that Peter gave him a spark that hadn't been there before, and it filled him with a hope that he could in fact become a person that Peter could be proud of. The fact that Peter was seriously trying to redeem him at all spoke volumes to Sylar that Peter's ability to forgive outweighed his own petty jealousies. Sylar glanced up at Peter every now and again as they walked analyzing him as he thought, 'You're either a good man or a fool to believe in me Peter; I just hope I won't disappoint you.'

Softly smiling at Sylar's thoughts, Peter realized they signified a positive change from what Sylar's thoughts were like when he first ran into him. He knew how important it was that Sylar reformed and thought, 'I hope I don't fail you.'

They had a long walk ahead of them, so Peter decided to work on some rehabilitation as they walked. "Let's talk about what you want to do when you grow up again. You're a smart guy, and you're going to need a job that doesn't leave you bored, so I don't think fixing watches is going to be a good choice. Did you go to college?

Sylar shook his head no, "I don't really think I'm college material, and now that my power is gone, I don't know what I should do anymore. I still like to see how things work even if I don't have the aptitude that I once had for it. It's still a big part of me." He shrugged thinking, 'I've got plenty of time to decide since I'm going to be stuck as a kid for quite awhile.'

"Have you ever taken a computer apart to see how it works? Computers are big business, and so prevalent in our society that you could find work anywhere you went. And the technology keeps changing so I think that would keep things from getting stagnant for you."

Sylar thought about it and decided that computers could be an avenue he could go into, 'Being this young, I could virtually be able to learn and utilize any new skill set by the time I'm a teenager. This whole growing up again might not be that bad after all.' He smiled up at Peter and responded, "Computers are the wave of the future, and I think you're right that they could keep me interested with the way they change constantly."

Peter smiled back and said, "Good. We'll get you an older computer that you can pull apart and maybe some books on it too."

Sylar's smile broadened as he replied, "Really? Thanks. I'd like to tinker with the inner workings of a computer, and then maybe I can master some programming skills later." The movie theater could be seen when the two cleared the top of the hill, and after a few more minutes the two were standing in line at the concession stand. Peter had gotten them popcorn and sodas, and they both enjoyed the movie. It was early afternoon by the time they were exiting into the bright sun. Sylar squinted shielding his eyes from the sun's glare as he asked Peter, "So where to now?"

"No matter how much I want to avoid it, we need to do the grocery shopping. We need to buy enough for the week, because I don't want to have to go again right away, so we should take the car."

Peter looked around and said, "I'd like to fly home, but I don't see any good spots to take off, so I guess we'll take a cab."

Peter waved down a cab and as they were getting in he said, "So did you like the movie?"

Sylar climbed into the cab, and after Peter gave the driver directions, he answered, "I liked it; the animation was done pretty well, and the story was fun. What did you think?"

"I liked it too. I had to read the poem for an English class I took in college, and I think the movie would certainly be classified as more fun. Of course some of that might be due to a virtually naked Angelina Jolie." Peter smirked.

Sylar chuckled, "She's quite the looker. She actually made Tomb Raider almost bearable… almost."

Peter laughed at that one and said, "I didn't actually see that one. Yes she is good looking, but I wouldn't go see something just for her. And Tomb Raider... well it looked like it was gonna be pretty bad."

They pulled up to Peter's apartment, and after Peter had paid the cab driver he turned to Sylar and said, "Do you need to go up to the apartment for anything, or should we just get in the car and go?"

Sylar replied, "I'm ready as I'll ever be." The two climbed into Peter's car and headed out across town to the closest grocery store.


	20. Complicated

They arrived at the store, got a cart, and started walking down the first aisle. Peter looked at the boxes of cereal and said to Sylar, "Pick whichever kind you want."

Sylar glanced down the isle and grabbed a box of honey nut Cheerios and placed it into the cart. They continued down each isle discussing back and forth foods that both wanted to eat throughout the week. When that conversation was settled they'd walked down the next two isles in silence, and Sylar got to thinking about life with Peter wondering aloud, "Alice said that I would grow up faster than normal, how fast do you think that will really be? And if it is only slightly faster, what am I going to do about any identity issues?"

Peter considered that for a few seconds, "As far as identity issues, when we have to cross that bridge I'll talk to my brother Nathan. And if he can't help us then we'll ask Matt. I'm sure between the four of us we can come up with some kind of solution."

They had reached the produce section, so Peter got a plastic bag and started putting some apples in it as he thought about Alice. "Alice said that the cat she'd de-aged had grown up normal again, but faster. We didn't get any kind of clear answer as to how much faster. Maybe when..."

As he was speaking the red apple he had in his hand turned green and then shrunk smaller and smaller until it turned into an apple seed. Peter muttered, "Shit."

He put the bag of apples down, put his hands in his pockets so he couldn't accidentally touch anything else, stopped thinking about Alice, and looked at Sylar. "You'll have to be my hands while we do the rest of our shopping."

Sylar's eyes widened in surprise as he thought, 'What the…? Did he just turn that apple into a seed?' He whispered his voice getting more excited as he talked, "What the hell just happened? That was Alice's power wasn't it! How did you get her power?"

Peter looked around to see if anyone was listening and hissed, "Keep your voice down."

He hadn't wanted Sylar to find out about his powers yet, but he knew it was something he wouldn't be able to hide for very long. He crouched down so he was on Sylar's level and said, "Yes it was Alice's power. For lack of a better term I'm a mimic. My body copies the power of any advanced human I'm around. The problem is that I can't always control it when I first get them, which you witnessed first hand when I exploded. So right now I need you to help me so we can finish getting the groceries and get out of the store before I do to some poor shopper what Alice did to you."

Sylar blinked in surprise nodding his compliance. They hurried through the last of their shopping as quickly as Peter could manage them through the store. Sylar couldn't help thinking, 'I don't believe it! He gets all of his powers for free?' He frowned, 'I wouldn't have minded having that power, then I never would have had to kill anybody.' Within ten minutes the two were pushing the purchased groceries out to the car. Once the two were in the parking lot Sylar asked, "So how do you control your powers?"

Glad to be out of the store and away from people Peter couldn't help but think that Sylar wouldn't have been so happy with the powers if he knew how unpredictable they could be. Peter answered Sylar honestly, "Practice. I need to go home and practice on some fruits. After a few hours I should be able to control it. When I first got my powers they were much harder to control. Then I met someone who helped me figure out how to do it."

Peter unlocked the car and helped Sylar load the groceries in. Very soon they were headed for home, and Peter was hoping that this new power only worked on living things. He didn't want any part of his car turning back into its original state.

Sylar remained silent thinking, 'This is insane, what a power to have! And it's scary to think that if he'd been touching me when it flaked on him, I could have been an embryo right now… that would have been most unpleasant.' He sighed looking over to Peter who seemed lost in thought. Sylar averted his eyes out the window as he continued to contemplate what it would have been like if he'd had Peter's power instead of Peter. It was unsettling the hunger he felt for it followed by the thought, 'Just how many powers could Peter have?'

These thoughts dominated his mind as he thought of all the powers he'd seen Peter use. His thoughts were interrupted when they'd reached Peter's apartment and the two got to work unloading the groceries. Several trips later they covered the kitchen table with bagged food, and Peter had begun pulling them out of their bags to put away in the fridge and cupboards. Sylar was confused and awed discovering the extent of Peter's powers, but the knowledge was a bit too much to handle at the current moment. He just wanted to distance himself from Peter as he said forlornly, "Unless you need my help putting away the groceries, I think I'm going to go lie down on my bed and read."

Peter was too distracted by his own thoughts and worries to pay much attention to Sylar, and was actually glad he wanted to go lie down, because he needed time to concentrate and practice. "Go ahead, I've got it covered."

Soon all the groceries were put away accept a large bag of apples which was on the table. Peter sat down, took an apple, and thought about Alice. It quickly turned into a seed. Peter took another one and held it for a few minutes while purposely not thinking about Alice or how his body felt when he thought of her. Then he thought about her again and the apple quickly turned into a seed. He pulled out another apple and tried to de-age it only enough to turn it green, but soon he was holding a seed again. He pulled out another one and tried it again. Soon the whole bag of apples were seeds.

Peter sighed in frustration and thought, 'Well at least I was able to figure out how to not use the power at all. I'm going to need a lot more practice, and if I keep using fruit it's going to get expensive.'

He spent some time thinking about how he was going to practice. He decided that after dinner he'd take Sylar to the park, find a secluded spot to try it on small weeds and plants. Then maybe when he was able to control it on those, he'd try it on a couple of trees.

Sylar wasn't sure how he felt, but after reading the same paragraph six times, he decided he was too tired and distracted to read. He laid the book on the shelf and climbed under his blankets. It was only around 3PM, and he knew they wouldn't be eating for another few hours. After all the popcorn they'd eaten he wasn't hungry anyway. He laid there for a good while just watching Peter practice with the bag of apples before getting miffed at the reminder that he no longer had abilities and covered his head to fume in private. His sulking didn't last long, as he let the wave of sleep that had been threatening to overtake him finally come for nothing more than to forget his place in the world now.

Once Peter had made the decision to go to the park later and practice some more, he started to pick up the seeds to throw them away. Once he had them in his hands he had a thought. He looked over at Sylar, and couldn't see anything other then a shape under the covers. He listened in to Sylar's thoughts and found none. Realizing Sylar was asleep, Peter took one seed in his hand and tried to reverse what he'd done by turning it back into an apple. Nothing happened, and after trying a few more times he threw the seeds away.

Walking over to Sylar, Peter pulled the covers back just enough to see Sylar's sleeping face. He was surprised that Sylar would be taking a nap, and thought that the walk must have worn him out. But then Peter shook his head knowing that probably wasn't true. Finding out what Peter's ability really was, it had to be emotional for Sylar since he'd been so power hungry before. Feeling bad while thinking he should have been more in tune with what Sylar had been going through, Peter decided to keep a close eye on him for the rest of the night.


	21. Kink in the Chain

Peter let Sylar sleep and went to the living room to relax and read for a while. When five o'clock rolled around Peter went to the kitchen and started cooking some rice, peas, and pork chops for dinner thinking the smell would wake Sylar up.

The smell had in fact rose Sylar from his sleep, but he was still in a sour mood from earlier and chose to stay in bed just so he didn't have to face Peter for a little while longer.

Peter kept his mind tuned to Sylar and knew he was both awake and avoiding him. He hoped this mood of Sylar's didn't manifest itself into a fight between them, but wasn't going to apologize for his abilities. He also wasn't going to let Sylar wallow in self pity for losing his since, in Peter's opinion, he'd misused them. He put the cooked food on a couple of plates and put them on the table. He walked over to Sylar's bed and said, "Dinner's ready. Come over to the table and eat please."

Sylar was hungry but his irritation outweighed his stomach's complaints as he mumbled into his sheets, "I'm not hungry. I want to sleep a little longer."

Crossing his arms at the obvious lie Peter said, "It wasn't a suggestion. Get up, and come to the table to eat."

Sylar growled angrily under the sheets, "Or what? Are you going to force shovel the food down my throat? I'm not hungry; just leave me alone Peter."

Peter's first impulse was to pick Sylar up and put him in his chair, but he knew that wouldn't go over well. Instead he said, "If you refuse to come to the table and eat a couple of bites of food, then you can have thirty minutes solitary confinement while I eat. I'll put your plate in the refrigerator and you can warm it up later, but I'm warning you, we won't be home again for at least two or three hours."

Sylar thought about Peter's words, 'Solitary confinement? That'd be perfect since I don't want to be around you right now anyway. I can stay hungry for a little while longer just to prove a point that you won't tell me what to do.' He spat angrily, "Fine! Although I think it's a little unfair of you to exert your will over me like a tyrant just because I'm tired and not hungry."

Peter shook his head at how stubborn Sylar was being. He turned and walked back to the kitchen thinking that a few swats would be much more effective, and that he should never have agreed to solitary as a punishment. He put some plastic wrap over Sylar's plate and put it in the refrigerator. Then he took one of the kitchen chairs away from the table, and set it facing the make-shift corner between the wall and the refrigerator. He walked back to Sylar's bed and said, "Solitary doesn't get to be in your bed. Get up, and follow me."

Sylar's anger was growing as he flipped the sheet back to look at Peter with a scowl. His eyes squinted hatefully at him boring a hole into the back of Peter's head as he followed him into the kitchen. Once he saw that Peter meant to have him sit in the corner his rage turned to fury as he spat, "You want me to sit in the corner?! That's ridiculous! I'm not going to do that! If you don't want me sleeping, you can make me sit on the couch, but I'm NOT sitting in the corner!" Sylar crossed his arms defiantly staring up at Peter as he thought, 'When I agreed to solitary confinement, I didn't agree to THIS!'

Peter crossed his arms as well and said with a calm he didn't feel, "Solitary confinement is supposed to be an unpleasant punishment. Sitting on the couch or staying in your bed for half an hour isn't something you will try to avoid in the future. If your original choice had been to come to the table and eat a few bites or get spanked, I'm pretty sure you would have come to the table. And maybe now that you know what solitary confinement is going to entail, you'll work on avoiding it in the future."

Sylar's blood froze in his veins and his eyes widened momentarily at the mention of getting spanked as he thought, ' I'd better tone it down a bit and just sit in the stupid corner, I don't think I could stand getting spanked again.' He managed to keep an icy stare on Peter for a moment longer before responding, "Whatever. You get your way Peter, I don't want to eat, and you punish me for it. I hope you feel like a big man now." He stormed over to the chair climbing up into it and tucking his feet up so his knees were scrunched against his chest with his arms wrapped around his legs. His chin rested in the crevice of his knees as he fumed staring at the crumble patterns in the apartment's wall. He thought in agitation, 'I can't believe he's got me sitting in the corner like a freaking toddler!'

Pleased to see that Sylar wasn't going to put up more of a fight about it, Peter walked over to the microwave and pushed some buttons. He turned to look at the back of Sylar's head and said, "I've set the microwave timer to go off in half an hour. You can get up once it goes off. Until then I want you to think about the reason you're being punished. It has a lot more to do with your general attitude then it does with the fact that you refuse to eat."

Peter sat down at the table and started eating his own food which wasn't as warm as it had been when he first put it down. But it still tasted pretty good.

Sylar waited until he heard Peter's utensils clinking on his plate before he spun around to look around the kitchen. He groaned looking up at the clock; it had just barely made three minutes… he had a long way to go. This only made him more frustrated. He didn't want to sit here any longer and spent the next ten minutes shifting every which way until he was lying with his back on the chair seat with both feet planted on either side of the corner. The boredom was making him drowsy as he sighed loudly in an effort to be annoying. 'Sixteen minutes yet to go, almost halfway there,' he thought wearily.

Once he finished eating, Peter took his plate into the kitchen. He looked over at Sylar's unusual position in the chair. Ignoring Sylar completely, Peter went and washed his plate and the dishes he'd used to cook dinner. Once that was done there was only five minutes left before the timer went off. Peter got out a container of ice cream and a spoon, and ate a few bites while leaning against the kitchen counter waiting for the timer.

It seemed like the most painfully long thirty minutes to Sylar; and when Peter came into the kitchen, his eyes darted over to him. His frown turned into a pout when Peter brought the ice cream out as his stomach growled in yearning. He thought, 'You jerk. You're eating that in front of me on purpose! I hate you!' Sylar silently seethed turning his eyes back to the wall deciding he didn't want to watch Peter enjoying the ice cream he wished he was enjoying as well.

Thirty seconds before the alarm went off Peter put the ice cream away. He hoped he'd made Sylar's solitary confinement miserable enough that he wouldn't jump at the chance to do it again like he had half an hour ago. The timer went off and Peter said, "Time's up. I hope that the next time I tell you to do something you'll think about this and be more inclined to do what I ask. Especially when it's something I'm trying to get you to do for your own good like eat a healthy dinner."

As soon as the words times up had been muttered, Sylar rolled out of his awkward position planting both feet on the floor before standing up straight arms folded in agitation. Sylar scowled mentally reiterating the words, '…trying to get you to do for your own good… Pfft! Like sitting in the corner is for my own good!' He grumbled, "Can I go read now."

Peter raised one eyebrow and gave Sylar a look to show he wasn't happy with his tone before he said, "No. We're going to go to the park, so that I can practice for a few hours. You can bring your book with you though. Go get ready to go."

Sylar made sure to give Peter his own disapproving look as he stormed into the living room to get his shoes. He didn't want to go to the park to watch Peter use his abilities; it just served as more of a reminder that he didn't have any anymore. As he got his shoes on, he sighed disheartened knowing that it wasn't Peter's fault he had powers, his powers just left Sylar feeling impotent around him.

The flying had been fun and beneficial, and Sylar had seen Peter use the power before, so it was of no surprise to him when Peter had used it again. Things had changed when Sylar had discovered Peter now had Alice's power, a new power …one of many. All he could think about was seeing Peter continuously gaining more and more powers throughout the time he would be living with him, and the capacity of the power Peter could house in time was unfathomable and overwhelming for Sylar in his current state of helplessness. It made him feel mundane, everything that his mother had told him that he wasn't even though he had felt it every day of his life. He had tried so hard to break that feeling inside of himself, and when he'd gotten powers, they had defined him, made him special. He thought forlornly, 'It doesn't matter now, I'm not special anymore, and I shouldn't hate Peter because he is. I need to just accept that fact and get over it.'

Peter's irritation with Sylar's behavior went away after hearing his thoughts, because at least he knew that Sylar was trying to calm himself down. Once he saw that Sylar had his shoes on and his book in his hand, Peter walked over to him, and squatted down in front of him so he could be on eye level. "When we're at the park I need to concentrate on what I'm doing. That means you have to stay close to me and stay in my sight at all times. I know this probably isn't how you wanted to spend your night, but I need to practice. Let's fly to the park so we can avoid rush hour, and so that you can at least have a little bit of fun tonight."

Sylar found it hard to keep eye contact with Peter embarrassed of his behavior and still having mixed feelings about having to sit and watch Peter learn how to use his new power, but he nodded in agreement feeling a little better about the opportunity to get to fly again. Within ten minutes time, the two had flown from the fire escape to an alleyway less then a block from the park.


	22. Realizations

The two walked side by side to the park, and Peter led them down one of the trails that went into a wooded area. Once they were far enough in that they couldn't see any lawn behind them, Peter led them a few feet off the trail. Looking around, Peter pointed to a tree that lay on the forest floor, and had obviously been down long enough to start decomposing. He said, "Stay by this tree. I'm going to work on the plants growing out of it."

Peter knelt down and started concentrating on one little plant at a time, trying to make it just slightly younger instead of making it go all the way back to seed form.

Sylar tried to feign like he was uninterested by plopping down on the downed tree and trying to read his book, but in all truth watching Peter perfect his skills was fascinating in its own right not to mention the dying afternoon light made reading a little difficult. He watched him out of his peripheral thinking, 'I wonder if he can use that power in reverse? If so, maybe he can turn me back into an adult again?'

Peter was putting all of his concentration into mastering his new ability, and after an hour of practicing he felt he could control it well enough to try it on a small tree. He walked over to a tree that was only five inches in diameter at the base, put his hand on it, and turned it into a sapling. He could feel his energy draining when he worked on the tree, and knew he'd have to call it a night. He nodded to himself thinking he'd made good progress, and then turned to Sylar. He said, "I'm done for the night. Ready to fly back?"

Sylar nodded his agreement, and they walked back to the alleyway where they then flew home. It was dark outside, and when they'd gotten back home Sylar had taken his book and sat on the couch to read the last chapter that he'd had trouble getting through with all the recent excitement.

Peter felt drained and wanted to go to sleep even though it was only seven o'clock, but didn't trust Sylar enough to fall asleep before him. He looked at Sylar sitting on the couch and asked, "Did you want me to warm up your dinner, or are you still not hungry?"

At Peter's words, Sylar's stomach growled in response, and he said nonchalantly, "I could eat."

Peter stifled the urge to roll his eyes and went into the kitchen to warm up Sylar's food. Once Sylar was eating at the table Peter said, "I'm gonna go take a shower."

Peter kept his mind open to Sylar's thoughts as he went into the bathroom. Once he got in the shower, Peter just stood there for a little while letting the warm water fall on him. He forced himself to stay awake and washed his hair. When he was done he turned the water to cold for a few seconds to try and wake up. He put on a pair of sweats and a tee shirt that he often slept in, and went out to check on Sylar.

Sylar had finished his meal going from the table straight back to sprawling out on the couch to continue his reading.

Looking at the clock Peter sighed; it was only eight thirty. He looked over at Sylar and said, "I know it's really early, but practicing wore me out. Can you please get ready for bed, and then read in bed quietly for the rest of the night until you go to sleep, so that I can get some sleep?"

Sylar didn't argue getting up to do as Peter asked. He had completed said task and was laid out on his bed within twenty minutes time his nose buried back in his book.

Peter lay down, knowing he couldn't keep himself awake any longer. The last thought before he fell asleep, was wondering if he could keep his mind open to Sylar's thoughts while he slept.

Sylar did not pay much attention to Peter as he had passed the time reading the last of his chapter. Once he had finished, Sylar glanced up to look at Peter's now softly snoring form. He wondered what the man could be dreaming since his eyes were moving rapidly back and forth. He thought sourly, 'You're probably dreaming about using your new power.' This line of thought brought him back to another unsettling memory, 'If you absorbed my telekinesis then that means you also absorbed that fat police officer's ability to read thoughts. You've been invading my mind since I've been here!' Sylar's mind reeled at this revelation wondering how he hadn't put two and two together before. He felt betrayed and vulnerable knowing that he'd been left so open to Peter's ability. It was unnerving on many levels, and his anger was immense as he thought, 'Well you're not reading my thoughts now, and I'm not sticking around here for you to do it any longer. By the time you wake up, I'll be long gone."

Sylar slid silently off the bed and tip-toed over to his shoes. He grabbed a sweater off the back of the couch and Peter's wallet before slipping quietly out the door and down the stairs.

Peter was in Kirby Plaza. He looked down at his hands; they were glowing. He said with horror, "No... Not again."

Then Sylar was in front of him in his adult form. Sylar sneered and said, "You wanted to save me?" Sylar paused to laugh and said, "Pathetic. You can't even control your own powers, and you wanted to try and control me? I killed a few people, so that I could have their powers. You're going to kill hundreds of thousands because you can't control yours."

Peter muttered, "No... No I can control it now. I can." But as he looked at his hands, he could see that the glow was getting brighter.

Sylar started laughing even harder. Peter glared over at him and focused on his hands as he said with more confidence, "I can control it now."

The glow died down and Sylar's laughter died with it. Once Peter had his radiation contained he focused back on Sylar to give him a smug look, but only could see the back of Sylar's head as he was running away. Peter yelled, "Get back here!"

Peter ran after him, and before he got a block away Sylar's form changed from an adult to a child. Peter quickly caught up and grabbed Sylar around the waist. Peter lifted him up and Sylar screamed at him, "I'm running away, and you can't stop me!"

Peter jerked awake. He was breathing hard as he sat up in bed and got his bearings. The clock read ten PM. He looked over at Sylar's bed and saw it was empty. "Sylar?"

Getting no response Peter threw the covers back and stood up. He focused his mind on Sylar's thoughts, and could tell he was close, but not in the apartment. Peter went out the window and got onto the fire escape. He flew into the air so he could see all sides of the building, and looked for Sylar.

Sylar had made it to the bottom of the steps and with great effort opened the heavy metal door leading out onto the city street. Sylar's eyes darted back and forth smirking and feeling quite sneaky as he ran down the street towards the subway. He was free, he wasn't sure what he would do, but that didn't matter now since there was no turning back.

Peter saw Sylar leave the building and knew his dream had somehow been linked to Sylar's thoughts and had woken him up. Peter muttered, "I can't believe he's running away."

Peter flew past Sylar and landed in an ally a block ahead of him. When he heard the soft thwap of Sylar's shoes running on the sidewalk, Peter stepped out from the ally and into Sylar's path.

Sylar stopped dead in his tracks his jaw dropped open in shocked surprise. He froze momentarily unable to speak, and when he did get his composure back his first instinct was to turn on his heels and run, but he knew that Peter would catch him. So, instead he bawled his fists in anger and shouted, "Did you think I wouldn't figure it out? How you've been in my head sifting through my thoughts like your pudgy friend? You had no right!"

Peter glared as he walked towards Sylar. "No right?! That's rich coming from you."

Peter got close enough and grabbed Sylar by the arm and started marching the two of them back towards the apartment building as he continued, "I knew you'd figure it out, I just wasn't sure how long it would take, but it doesn't change anything."

Sylar tugged and pulled away to no avail thinking quickly, 'Doesn't change anything?' A wave of fear went through him as the 'rules' conversation came flooding back. The anger drained out of his voice as he remarked, "What do you mean? How can you say that? You've been lying to me! You should have told me! That changes everything!"

Feeling tired and pissed, Peter kept his mouth shut knowing he'd say something he'd regret at that point. He yanked Sylar into an ally, tossed him over his shoulder, and flew them back to his fire escape. He put Sylar down on his bed and said, "Stay there; I need to calm down."

Peter stalked off to the kitchen to calm himself down.

Sylar's whole body went rigid when he'd been tossed over Peter's shoulder. He could feel the waves of anger coursing through Peter, and when he'd flown up to the fire escape, through the window, and then tossed him on his bed all he could think was, 'Oh no. He's really pissed.' Sylar was grateful that Peter left to calm down. He didn't know what to say, but he knew better than to challenge Peter or argue with him in his current state. He thought, 'I just have to let him calm down, then we can talk about this; he can't blame me for being mad… can he?'

Peter paced around the kitchen for a few minutes taking some calming breaths and talking himself down in his head. 'Running off in the middle of the night the first chance he gets. Telling me I have no right to read his thoughts, as if he should have any rights at all after the things he's done.'

Peter shook his head and took another deep breath. 'That's not helping, let's try again. You're tired. The new power tired you out, and you've only had about two hours of sleep. It's understandable that he'd be upset, we were building trust, and now he feels like that's gone.'

Peter rubbed a hand down his face and thought, 'And now I have to spank him for running away too. Bad timing, but I can't let it go.'


	23. No More Secrets

Peter turned towards the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. He dried off, and then turned towards the bedroom. He asked himself if he was calm enough to deal with Sylar fairly and decided he was.

He walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of his own bed facing Sylar's bed. He put his elbows on his knees and looked at Sylar. "I'm calm now, so let's talk. You feel betrayed, and I am sorry you feel that way. But I couldn't trust you to be honest with me at first, and needed to be able to read your thoughts without you knowing, to make sure I was helping you in the right way."

Sylar had watched Peter pace around and when he came into the bedroom, his stomach tightened involuntarily. He hated this feeling, the feeling that he was in trouble. When Peter sat down Sylar took in a deep breath sitting up straight as he listened to Peter. He scowled at Peter's justification as he spouted, "You're damn right I feel betrayed. How am I supposed to feel?" As a quick justification of his own he added, "That's why I left; I figured out you've been lying to me this whole time, so I figured all bets were off."

Peter shook his head. "You figured wrong, all bets are not off. Understanding why you were angry does not mean that I'm okay with you taking off. There were other ways that you could have dealt with your anger, and we'll talk about that tomorrow. But right now, I have to follow though with some behavior modification. I was very clear about what would happen if you tried to run away, so come here."

Sylar's face fell as his eyebrows furrowed in worry, "What? But… come on! We're talking it out right now. It… it was a misunderstanding, and I can forgive you for lying okay, but I think in the same vein, you should also forgive me. Can't we just consider us even with a fresh start?"

Peter knew this was going to be hard for Sylar; knowing what was coming, and being helpless to stop it. But Peter also knew that following through with what he'd said he would do was the only way to continue building trust, especially now that it had been damaged. "It was not a misunderstanding, you deliberately ran away. I lied to you because I was trying to do what was best for you. You ran away because you were angry. Motive makes all the difference. I will forgive you for running away, and we can start fresh again after I spank you. I'm not changing my mind about it, so you can come here, or I can come get you."

Sylar wanted to cry and his lips formed into a pout reflecting this emotion before he could control it. His throat became dry, and his heart pounded as he desperately tried to think of what he could say to convince Peter not to spank him. He whined, "I'm sorry Peter; I over reacted! Please don't… don't do this. I'll be good now. I don't need a spanking… really!" He scooted back against the far wall of his bed and grabbed his pillow placing it in his lap and nervously kneaded his fingers into its squishy surface.

Peter stood up and said quietly, "I'm sorry too."

He took the couple of steps that separated their beds, and sat down next to Sylar who was squishing himself as far away from Peter as he could, and had a look of panic on his face. Peter put both his hands on Sylar's upper arms, lifted him pillow and all, and pulled him face down over his lap.

Sylar yelped when Peter grabbed him, and when he was placed over Peter's lap he immediately began to squirm in desperation to get away as he yelled, "No, no, no! Stop!" When it seemed his pleas were falling on deaf ears, Sylar tried a little manipulation, "Don't beat me Peter! Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry! Okay? I'm sorry!"

Feeling a little like a bully but trying not to, Peter said, "I wouldn't call it a beating, but it is going to hurt."

As he was talking Peter pulled Sylar's pants down with a tug. Once the clothing was out of the way, he brought his hand down with a solid spank in the middle of Sylar's butt, and quickly followed that with more.

Sylar whimpered as the feeling of cool air signified his ass being bared, and he clenched awaiting the soon to be swat that would follow. The sharp slap followed too soon after. And with it Sylar's eyes teared over. It wasn't the pain even though it hurt, but the humiliation that he was once more in this position that had brought on the tears. He bucked and twisted trying to avoid Peter's blows as he screamed out, "Noooo! Peter! Stop! I'll be good! Please stop!"

Keeping a tight hold on Sylar's upper half, Peter paused long enough to trap both of Sylar's kicking legs between his own. Once Sylar was secured, Peter continued the spanking just as hard and said, "I'm glad to hear that you'll be good in the future, but this spanking is punishment for what you've already done."

Sylar wailed out pitifully as Peter trapped his legs, "Peter no! No more!" He hated Peter's words because he knew Peter was right, he would be good in the future if only to avoid repeating this humiliating experience again. He hated Peter for spanking him, but he also knew it was the only way Peter would ever have any semblance of control over him. Because he was out of control, and he needed to be put in check. The pain in his rear was starting to really hurt, and he wiggled unable to move an inch as he turned to stare at Peter in despair eyes pleading for him to have mercy as he watched his heavy hand raise and once again fall on his very vulnerable rear end.

Peter glanced over at Sylar's head for a second and made eye contact right after a swat had landed. Peter paused long enough to say in a calm voice, "Running away will always bring us back to this point. So if you want to avoid getting spanked..."

Peter turned back to Sylar's rear and gave him a swat that was harder then the other's had been. "...I suggest you think twice next time you're angry."

With that Peter started swatting at a fast pace again, and concentrated his swats slightly lower than before to get Sylar's sit spots and upper thighs.

Sylar couldn't help the little grunts and squeals that escaped his throat as Peter's hand lit his ass on fire. He moaned hoping for sympathy, "I can't take this anymore! It hurts so bad! I… I won't runaway again! I swear! You… you made your point!" After all his energy had been spent, he collapsed wearily over Peter's knee sobbing and feeling very sorry for himself and his bottom as it was peppered with swat after painful swat.

After hearing some sincere crying coming from Sylar, Peter gave him ten more swats before stopping. He hadn't had to spank for as long this time to get the results he was looking for, and he was pleased to see only dark pink skin with no bruising this time. Peter relaxed his legs so that Sylar could move his again, and then pulled up Sylar's pants for him. He thought that Sylar would need comfort this time even more then the last time he'd spanked him, not only because they knew each other better now, but also because he knew Sylar's hurt feelings from the lie were fresh in his mind. Peter picked Sylar up, sat him in his lap, and pulled his upper body into a hug.

The hug was hated and welcomed at the same time, but Sylar didn't pull away as he sobbed into Peter's chest not caring how weak it made him feel. Mostly Sylar felt confused with the conflicting emotions he was feeling. On one hand he felt angry and violated knowing that his thoughts were no longer his own, and on the other hand he couldn't fault Peter for keeping his power a secret from him because he knew that if he had known about Peter's ability, he would have completely shut Peter out without giving him a chance. He realized then that he really did like Peter and believed that he had his best interest at heart.

As his sobs died down Sylar felt like he should pull out of the hug, but the hug was comforting and he wanted to be comforted. The strength of Peter's hug made him feel like a huge weight had been lifted from his conscious. It wasn't a feeling he was used to. His parents were never very physical people negatively or positively, and after displaying such a varying degree of emotion, Sylar had exhausted himself. He blinked wiping away his tears with the back of his shirt and finally pulling out of the embrace feeling embarrassed for staying in it for so long as he mumbled, "I'm okay now."

Peter helped Sylar stand up and stood up himself. "I think that's a stretch. Getting spanked sucks. It's emotionally and physically draining. It's okay if you're not okay for a while."

Peter pulled back Sylar's covers and said, "Get in bed."

Sylar reached back gently rubbing the sting that still emanated off his back side thinking, 'Getting spanked does really, really suck!' He pouted as he looked at Peter and then at the bed and sighing kicked off his shoes and demurely climbed up onto the bed. His breath still hitched a little as he grabbed his pillow and lay down on his stomach. As Peter brought the covers up over him, a wave of sorrow washed over Sylar, and he clutched his pillow tightly, his eyes once more welling with tears to silently cascade down his cheeks as he cried into his pillow.

After pulling the covers up around Sylar's shoulders, Peter sat down on Sylar's bed and started rubbing his back in soothing circles. He could tell Sylar was crying again and said quietly, "I can't tell you that I'm sorry I hid my abilities from you, because I'm not. But I am sorry that you feel betrayed. And you may not believe this at first, but I won't lie to you or hide things from you again."

It took Sylar several minutes to respond for the fact that he wasn't sure how to respond to what Peter had said and the fact he didn't want Peter to know he was still crying. He took in a deep breath finally replying, "I did feel betrayed, and I guess I can understand why you wouldn't tell me... I probably wouldn't have told me either if I were you. And for what it's worth, I do believe you, and more so, I really want to believe you."

With a soft smile on his face Peter said, "Thank you for that." After a short pause Peter said, "Why don't you try to get some sleep. Things will be better tomorrow."

Peter kept rubbing Sylar's back and planned to stay with him until he fell asleep.

Sylar sniffled listening to Peter's words and coupled with the comforting and his exhaustion, within twenty minutes time, Sylar had drifted off to sleep.

Once Sylar's breathing leveled out Peter walked over to his own bed and fell back to sleep seconds after climbing in.


	24. 9 to 5

The alarm went off at seven the next morning. Peter turned it off and felt surprisingly well rested after feeling drained the night before and having to chase down Sylar. He got up, checked on Sylar who was still sleeping, and went to make some coffee. While he was drinking his coffee, he checked the list of patients he had to check on, and what times he was scheduled to be at each of the three places.

With his coffee in hand, he went in to wake up Sylar. He touched Sylar's shoulder and said, "Time to wake up."

Sylar blinked rolling onto his side and mumbled sleepily, "I'm up… I'm up."

"We need to leave for work in half an hour, so you need to eat some breakfast, take a shower if you want, and get dressed."

Peter started getting out his own clothes out while he waited for Sylar to get up.

Sylar groaned as he slid out of bed. His bottom still had a dull throbbing reminder of last night which made him frown. He wanted to see the damage there and gathered a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

He undressed and examined the slight discoloration of splotchy reds and was glad it didn't look as bad as the previous time. It still sucked, and he hated knowing that getting spanked was a quick option for his discipline, and he hated even more that it seemed to work on him well, and he was sure Peter knew that fact too.

It wasn't worth dwelling on, and so, he climbed into the shower, cleaned up, and got dressed coming back out into the living room once he'd finished. Peter had prepared a bowl of cereal for him on the table, and Sylar climbed into his chair and began silently eating while Peter was getting ready.

Peter was ready to go by the time Sylar finished eating, and soon they were in the car on their way to the first house. On the way Peter said, "We're going to see three different people today. The first is Robert Paulson. He's in his late sixties. He was in the military his whole life, and he started showing the first signs of Alzheimer's in his fifties. He lives with his son, daughter-in-law, and their two kids. He's friendly enough, but can get angry when he doesn't remember things."

Sylar raised an eyebrow remarking, "This is going to be an interesting day isn't it?" He wondered what he would be doing while they visited all of Peter's patients. He was sure to be finding out shortly he assumed.

"While we're at the Paulson's house, I'm sure the kids will want you to play with them, and if you can remember to act like your seven then I'm fine with that, but I somehow doubt you'd enjoy it. You can help me with Robert by just sitting and listening to him talk while I take his vitals and talk to his daughter in law about how he's been doing."

Sylar nodded responding, "Either is fine; I like kids… I think I can manage acting like I'm seven for a couple hours."

Peter smiled and said, "You like kids? You're an only child right? And I'm pretty sure you don't have any kids of your own, so what kids did you know in your old life that you liked?"

Sylar smirked thinking of his mom's neighbor's children that he'd taken to the park while his mother and theirs would have coffee together as he replied, "I've known a couple, and believe it or not, they even liked me."

Peter pulled up to the house and said, "I can believe it."

The two got out of the car, and walked up to the Paulson's house. Peter rang the bell and Katrina answered. "Hi Peter, come on in."

Peter indicated Sylar and said, "This is my nephew, Gabriel. He's staying with me for a little while."

Katrina smiled and said, "Nice to meet you." As she was talking two small children came running into the room. Both of them said with glee, "Peter!"

Peter smiled, "Hi guys. How are you?"

The girl said, "Good." While the boy said, "I got a new truck."

Katrina said, "Gabriel, these are the twins Mike and Maddie. They're five." She turned to Mike and Maddie and said, "This is Peter's nephew Gabriel."

Both kids said, "Hi." at the same time.

Sylar smiled and waved.

Katrina opened the door for them, and Peter and Sylar entered the house. It was a quaint dwelling that opened up into a small living room that branched off with a hallway on either side of the living room and a kitchen intersecting to the north of the right hallway.

The Disney movie, Cars, was playing on the TV, and Maddie grabbed Sylar's hand leading him to the couch as she said, "Come watch my movie! It just started!" Sylar let himself be led alongside her and followed her lead to climb on the couch and sit beside her.

While Sylar watched the movie, Peter spoke with Katrina for a few minutes about how Robert had been doing over the past week since he'd seen him. Then Peter went into the kitchen with Katrina where Robert was sitting at the table in a wheelchair looking out the window.

Talking to Robert while taking his vitals, Peter got a little eye contact, but no verbal response from Robert. Peter looked over some notes left by Robert's usual nurse, Teri, and then discussed Robert's current medications with Katrina.

Once that was done, Peter took a second to check on Sylar before continuing. He walked into the living room and said, "Are you doing alright? I'm going to be in the bathroom for a little while giving Mr. Paulson a shower."

Maddie had snagged Sylar's hand back as soon as he'd climbed back onto the couch snuggling up next to him to lay her head against his. Sylar smiled thinking her cute as he leaned back into her as well.

Mike had went into his own world after he'd found his truck proceeding to run it up and down an invisible highway that ran the course of the living room's coffee table, and when Peter had poked his head in, all three of them had glanced up smiling.

Sylar responded happily, "Yea; everything's good on this end."

Half an hour later Peter was done in bathroom, and was wheeling Mr. Paulson back to the kitchen. He was pleased to see that Sylar was still watching cartoons and seemed happy to be spending time with the kids. Peter talked a little more with Katrina, and then helped her get Robert to take some medications and eat an early lunch.

Once that was done, Peter went to Sylar and said, "Time to go. Ready for some lunch?"

Maddie frowned, "Aw! Peter, don't take Gabriel away! We're watching Cars!"

Sylar smirked at Peter adding, "See; I told you kids liked me." Sylar gave her a hug telling her, "Don't worry Maddie, I'll come back again sometime."

Soon Peter and Sylar were back in the car. Peter said, "Thank you for getting along with them while I worked, I appreciate it. What would you like to eat? We have about an hour before we need to be at our next appointment."

Sylar smiled from the welcomed praise, "It was actually pretty nice hanging out with those kids. As for food, I'm game for anything. What are you in the mood for?"

"There's a deli not to far from here that's pretty good. You can get sandwiches, soups, and salads. While we eat I'll tell you about the next person we're going to visit. She's my current regular, and we'll see her every day that I go to work."

Sylar responded, "Sounds like a plan."


	25. It gets Harder

The two drove on chatting about the Paulson visit and about Mr. Paulson's condition before they'd made it to the deli. The line wasn't long, and the two each had a roast beef sub and a coke within five minutes of stepping up to the counter. Peter carried their food on a tray, and they made their way over to one of the back tables to slide into a booth and eat their lunch.

While they were both eating Peter said, "Next we're going to go see Lacey Danforth. She's forty-eight and she's dying of lung cancer. She lives with her husband Joe, and their daughter, Hanna, who has been away at college but recently moved back in to stay with them for the next couple of months."

Sylar listened to Peter and thinking about what he had said about his next appointment, he thought, 'Forty-eight? Wow. I guess I thought Peter only worked with old people… nothing will make you feel your own mortality more then working with the dying.' He responded with, "I guess she's pretty far gone to be in Hospice care now. How do you do it Peter? I mean working with people dying all around you. Doesn't it depress you?"

Not needing any time to think about it, Peter said, "Sometimes it is depressing, but it's something I feel compelled to do. People may not want to talk about or think about death, especially in our society, but it's a part of everyone's life. It's something we all share. And I think to myself; what if it were my mom, my brother, or myself lying in bed dying. Wouldn't I want someone to be there for me? Wouldn't I want someone to help me not to be in constant pain while my body was shutting down? Does that make sense to you?"

Sylar nodded responding, "It makes sense. I guess it just takes a special person to be able to put themselves in the position to be there for someone in such a way. I respect you for that Peter."

Giving Sylar a big smile Peter said, "Well thank you. It's good to know that you can appreciate what I do. I'm pretty sure that both my mom and my brother think I'm a bit of a disappointment. Maybe if I'd been a doctor I'd be less of an embarrassment."

Sylar frowned responding, "I don't think we'll ever amount to what our parents really foresee us to be." Sylar thought of his own mother and felt a conflicted mix of anger and guilt before dropping his gaze to turn his attention back to his roast beef sandwich.

Peter nodded in agreement and concentrated on his own food. The rest of the meal was eaten in companionable silence, and when they were done eating, they headed towards Lacey's house.

Hanna answered the door wide enough to let them in and said, "Hi Peter. I'm glad you're here..." She looked down at Sylar and her sentence trailed off.

Peter said, "Hanna, this is my nephew Gabriel. He'll be staying with me for a while."

Hanna said, "Hi Gabriel. Nice to meet you."

Sylar gave her a large smile and a wave replying, "Hello Hanna."

"She's in more pain then usual."

Peter put a hand on Hanna's shoulder and said, "Let's see what we can do about that."

Hanna put her hand over Peter's for a second, and nodded. Peter let her go and turned to Sylar. "Come on; I'll introduce you."

The three walked through a large living room full of expensive furniture, up a flight of stairs, and down a hallway to the master bedroom. As they were walking Hanna said, "My dad went to work for a few hours today. Mom insisted she was feeling better then last week. Dad knew it was a lie, but Mom knew he needed to be there for a meeting today, so he went. She's coughed up quite a bit of blood over the past hour, but she was able to eat more lunch then usual."

The door to the master bedroom was open. The sun was shining through the window of the spacious room, and a frail looking woman was on the bed propped up into a sitting position with pillows behind her, and an oxygen tube running under her nose. She had a blue bandana tied around the top of her head, and she was wearing matching blue pajamas. Her breathing was audible from the doorway. She smiled at Peter and said, "Hello Pete." She looked at Sylar and said, "Hello there young man, who might you be?"

Sylar said nothing as he lingered in the doorway looking at the woman. He wasn't afraid of her, but her raspy breathing did send a shiver down his spine. He watched how the woman had regarded Peter with such admiration and warmth, and all of a sudden, he felt like he didn't belong here. It was as if his mere presence tainted the scene. What Peter was doing was a wholesome act, and with all the many things Sylar had done, he didn't feel he deserved to be a part of it.

Reading Sylar's mood more then his mind, Peter realized he wasn't going to answer. Looking at Lacey Peter said, "This is my nephew. He'll be staying with me for a little while, so you'll be seeing him pretty often."

Peter turned to Sylar and said gently, "It's okay Gabriel, come over here and say hi."

Lacey smiled and added, "I don't bite."

Sylar slowly moved into the room to the foot of her bed. He gave Lacey a small smile as he said an almost inaudible, "Hello."

"Very nice to meet you." Lacey said.

Peter asked Lacey, "How are you doing today?"

Her eyes darted over to Hanna and she said, "I'm feeling fine."

Nodding Peter turned to Hanna and said, "Hanna could you please get your mother's nebulizer ready?"

"Sure." Hanna walked out of the room and once she was gone Peter turned to Lacey and said, "How are you doing today?"

Lacey looked out the window and said quietly, "Feels like someone's tightening a vice grip on my entire chest. Every breath is more of a struggle."

Peter nodded and got his stethoscope out of his bag "How many breathing treatments have you had today?"

"Three."

Peter listened to her chest for a few seconds and then put the stethoscope away. He sat down on the edge of her bed, picked up her hand in his and said, "How about some morphine? I know we've talked about it, and I know you don't like it, but when you've had it before, it helped."

Lacey looked out the window thinking about it. She turned back to him and gave him a small nod. As she was nodding she went into a three minute coughing fit, and had to pull out some Kleenex to cover her mouth with while she coughed. The Kleenex came away red when the coughing was over. Peter took the tissue away from her and put it in the garbage by the bed, and got the morphine out of his bag. As he was getting the shot ready he turned to Sylar and said, "Could you please go distract Hanna for a few minutes? Ask her for a soda or something."

Sylar up until this point had been mesmerized watching the scene in front of him. Peter's question knocked him out of his daze and he nodded responding, "Huh? Oh yea, yea. No problem."

Sylar was more than happy to leave the room darting out and down the hall towards the kitchen. On his way to the kitchen he heard a humming sound coming from the living room. Sylar turned the corner to see Hanna sitting on her coffee table softly crying. Her palms covered her eyes so that all he could see of her face was the terrible grimace of pain as she sobbed.

Sylar frowned eyebrows arching in sympathy for the woman. He saw a box of tissues next to the recliner and picked them up bringing them to Hanna. He didn't interrupt her. She moved her hands to wipe the tears away only to be startled by Sylar's presence standing next to her. He lifted the box of tissues up towards her.

Hanna took a few from the box and wiped the tears away before giving him a sad smile and replying, "Thank you honey. Aren't you the sweetest thing? I guess the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree in your family does it?"

Sylar smiled responding, "I guess not. I'm sorry if I scared you."

Hanna brushed her fingertips through his hair replying, "Oh sweetie, you didn't scare me." She switched the nebulizer off and turned back to face Sylar asking, "How would you like a nice piece of pumpkin pie?"

Sylar's smile grew as he responded, "I'd love some, but you've got to have a slice with me."

Hanna arched an eyebrow giving him a crooked smile and remarked, "Oh yea? Is that so?"

Sylar nodded his agreement and grabbed her hand so that she would go to the kitchen with him. He knew it wasn't a permanent fix for Hanna's suffering, but he hoped it would at least be a welcome distraction for her.

It didn't take long for the shot to take effect, and a couple of minutes after Peter had given it to Lacey she murmured, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Peter went and made some notes in her chart, and looked through the notes his weekend relief nurse had written. Once he was done with that he went and checked Lacey's heart rate and breathing. Then he said, "Why don't you take a little nap now that the pain isn't so bad."

"How long?"

She asked him this question at least once a week since they'd met, and Peter knew what she was talking about. He made his best guess, "Less then a month."

Lacey nodded in understanding. After a pause Peter said, "How about some music? What would you like to listen to?"

"The Bee Gees, Stayin Alive."

Laughing Peter said, "Well that seems appropriate."

Lacey smiled at him and said, "It played at my prom."

Peter walked over to a small entertainment center that was against the wall and looked through the CD's until he found the right one. He put it in the CD player, and once the music started he said, "I'm going to go check on Hanna."


	26. Monkey Wrench

Peter walked downstairs and found Hanna and Sylar in the kitchen eating pie. As he walked in he said, "That looks pretty good."

Hanna immediately asked, "How is she?"

"I gave her a shot of morphine. She's resting."

Hanna looked back at her pie and pushed it away. Peter looked over at Gabriel for a second and then back to Hanna. "Gabriel's been stuck inside watching me work most of the day. Any chance I could talk you into showing him the pond out back while I get some of the laundry done?"

After a short pause Hanna tried to smile as she turned to Sylar and said, "We have some koi in there. Wanna see them?"

Sylar put on a smile and gave her a small nod before slipping off the chair. Hanna held out her hand to him and he took it as she led them towards the back door. Before walking out the door, she turned back motioning to the refrigerator and said, "Help yourself to some pie if you'd like Peter. There's plenty, and most of it ends up going bad without a little help eating it."

The two exited the house and walked down the back steps into the now red and browning garden. Hanna's mind was elsewhere as she stared off momentarily. As they walked, she refocused and looked down at Sylar with a smile as she stated, "You know, when I was your age, I used to love trying to catch the fish in our pond." She laughed continuing, "Mom would get so mad when I'd come in all covered in mud and smelling like the pond. She used to say she was going to get rid of the blasted thing just to make a lady out of me."

Sylar giggled and said, "I guess she made a lady out of you another way huh?"

Hanna let out a soft chuckle replying, "Yea, I guess she did."

She sat down on the swinging bench that sat a few meters away from the pond holding it still so Sylar could climb on. He did so, and Hanna wrapped an arm around his shoulders. The human contact felt good, and Sylar leaned into the embrace willingly. He stared off at the pond watching the waterbugs dance across the water's surface as he absently stated, "It's amazing how much peace can be found in nature."

Hanna gave him an odd look and said, "You're quite mature and insightful for your age Gabriel."

Sylar remembering that he was in a child's body blushed and covered with, "Well, that's what my dad always used to say when we'd go camping."

Hanna gave a slow nod before returning her gaze to the pond as well as she replied, "Your dad is a wise man then."

The two continued to sit in companionable silence.

Half an hour later Peter checked on Lacey who was asleep. He was listening to her breathing when Joe arrived home and came in to check on Lacey. Peter saw him and whispered, "She's sleeping."

Joe nodded, walked over to her side, and put a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving the room with Peter. Once they were walking down the stairs Peter said, "I gave her some morphine for the pain. I recommend putting her on a regular dose. We should talk to her about it when she wakes up, and then you should talk to her about it tonight, and let me know what you both decide. She doesn't like to admit she's in pain, but it's only going to get worse from here."

Looking unhappy, Joe nodded and said, "Okay."

Once they got downstairs Joe looked around and asked, "Where's Hanna?"

"I brought my nephew Gabriel with me today; he's going to be staying with me for a while. Hanna took him outside to see the pond."

"Probably good for her to get out for a while." Joe said to himself.

Peter said, "Same goes for you too. Why don't you go out and talk with Hanna for a while. I'll come get you when Lacey wakes up. Tell Gabriel to come in and see me for a minute."

Glancing towards the stairs for a second before nodding, Joe headed out towards the pond. He saw Hanna and Gabriel sitting by the pond. Hanna saw him and said, "Hi Dad. How did the meeting go?"

Without a smile Joe said, "It went really well."

Hanna said, "This is Pete's nephew, Gabriel."

Joe said with a small smile, "Nice to meet you Gabriel. Peter wanted to see you for a minute."

Sylar looked between the two briefly and nodded slipping off the bench swing to let Joe sit as he responded, "Okay."

He made his way up the back steps and into the house where he saw Peter waiting for him. He stated, "Joe said you wanted to see me. I'm guessing you more wanted to give those two a minute alone."

With a smile of approval Peter confirmed Sylar's suspicions. "Yeah, you're right. We'll be here for a couple more hours, so if you want to keep yourself busy, there are quite a few books in the living room, as well as a couple of shelves filled with DVD's."

Sylar's lip twitched as he thought about the selection of activities. He didn't find either very appealing at the moment as his mind was jumbled by all the conflicting emotions around him. He didn't want to just sit in the living room and pretend nothing here was wrong, but knowing Peter had work to do, he nodded his acquiescence saying "Okay." Before heading into the living room, he turned his eyes back up to Peter searching for what he wasn't quite sure, but he knew he wanted to know more about what made Peter who he was. He was starting to really admire the man and was happy that if he had to be in anyone's custody, it was Peter.

"Why hasn't he called us?" Mohinder spat irritably to Matt. It had been nearly a week since Peter, Mohinder, and Matt had taken Sylar's powers away. Mohinder shook his head as he paced back across the kitchen floor and into the living room where Matt was sitting. He handed the man a cup of tea as he continued, "Sylar is dangerous. I realize Peter means well, but he can't possibly think that he can manage a monster like him. I can't just sit idly by waiting for Sylar to make his escape and wreak more havoc on the world. We have to do something."

Matt took his tea, had a sip and then shrugged, "Do something? What do you suggest we do? Peter made it pretty clear that he thinks he can handle things, and I'm sure he'd call if he needed help. Anyway, I thought that shot got rid of Sylar's powers. Is he going to get them back?"

Mohinder frowned, "With a man like Sylar? I couldn't say that he wouldn't try to find a way to reverse the effects of the serum. Not to mention, this is new science; who knows if the serum's effects will last forever. Can we really take that chance? I just think Peter's out of his element. We would all be better off if Sylar was placed in a cell where he could be watched at all times. He's a killer, and the Company is the best place for him."

Matt took the tea and had a sip while he considered what Mohinder had said. He thought about Molly and hated the thought of Sylar ever being able to hurt her again. "If there's a chance that Sylar could get his powers back, then maybe we do have an obligation to make sure he's locked up. But Peter meant what he said, and he'll fight to keep him. I don't want to fight Peter, but even if we did try to fight him we couldn't win."

Mohinder took in a deep breath contemplating Matt's valid point before responding, "You're right, we can't take Peter on by our selves, but I think we both know someone who can help us." Mohinder walked over to the kitchen table where his cell phone had been placed. He flipped the phone open, found Noah's number, and dialed.

Noah looked at his cell phone to see who was calling and answered, "What can I do for you Mohinder?"

Mohinder responded, "We've got a mutual problem that I think you are more equipped to handle. It's Sylar, we need your help to take him down. If you can meet with Matt and I, I can explain everything."

Noah's mind raced. "Sylar? I'll be on the next flight to New York. Don't try to confront him before I arrive. I'll call you when I have my flight information."

Mohinder acknowledged, "We'll be waiting." He clicked the phone closed and turned a smile towards Matt and said, "Not to fear the cavalry is on the way."

Matt took another sip of his tea and mumbled to himself, "If Noah's the cavalry we better hide the women and children."


	27. Setting a Plan in Motion

Noah turned off his phone and went to talk to his superiors in the company. Half an hour later he had phoned Mohinder back and given him the flight information; six hours later, he was stepping off the airplane in New York.

Noah hailed a cab and headed towards Mohinder and Matt's apartment.

Mohinder awoke with a start at hearing a loud pounding at his door. He slipped out of bed stumbling towards the door. Matt was still sleeping on the couch supposedly to be the one waiting up. Mohinder shook his head rolling his eyes as he peered through the peephole to confirm the late night visitor was in fact Noah. It was. He opened the door standing to the side to invite the man in. They weren't exactly on the best of terms now, but Sylar was a common enemy and worth working together to bring down.

Noah entered the apartment and got straight to the point, "Thanks. Are you awake enough to tell me what you know about Sylar's whereabouts?"

Mohinder glanced over at Matt who had stirred in his sleep as he closed the door behind Noah. He crossed the expanse of the living room and slapped Matt's calf to wake him up before turning back to Noah and responding, "About that… I think you might want to have a seat because what I'm about to tell you is… complicated."

Matt jerked awake and said, "What? What's wrong?"

He looked over at Noah and Mohinder and realized he'd fallen asleep. He rubbed a hand over his face and said, "Oh."

Noah looked over at the kitchen table and took a seat. "Okay, I'm sitting. Let's have it."

Matt stood up and started making some coffee for himself and whoever else wanted some. He said, "I don't know how complicated it is. Sylar's a kid with no powers, and in Peter's custody."

"What!" Noah's voice had gone up a notch.

Matt looked to Mohinder to explain.

Mohinder gave Matt a frown for throwing the facts out there so bluntly. He massaged his temples irritably as he padded into the kitchen pulling out a chair to sit next to Noah. The man was looking at Mohinder like he had three heads. Mohinder looked down at the table and sighed deeply gathering his thoughts before bringing his eyes back up to stare into Noah's as he replied, "Sylar went after another power, and by a turn of good fate, it blew up in his face. The particular power he ran into regressed him physically but not mentally, so make no mistake, he's just as dangerous. As for his powers, I'm sure you'll remember the last time we spoke that I had told you I'd been working on an inhibitor serum? Well, it worked… for now any way. We would have brought you Sylar after capturing him, but Peter insisted that the Company was a poor choice. I'm hoping that you can help change his mind."

Noah sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds, and then said with irritation, "And you only decided to call me now? How long has he been with Peter?!"

Mohinder responded to Noah, "A little over a week."

Noah shook his head thinking this was a bad situation. "You should have called me. Sylar is a killer, and needs to be locked up. Not to mention that this serum is experimental, and you don't know how long it will last! We need him contained. And now that Peter's had him for a week..."

Noah shook his head, knowing the things Angela had told him about her son. "The longer they are together the more attached Peter will get, and the more he'll try to fight to keep him. Sylar is a manipulative bastard and will use Peter's soft nature to his advantage."

Noah stood and paced around the room for a few seconds, wishing his friend the Haitian was available, but he wasn't. "I'll have to think about this. We'll need a plan to get Sylar away from Peter without anyone getting hurt. I'm going to go check into my hotel, and I'll be back here first thing in the morning to work out a plan."

Mohinder nodded, "How about nine? Matt will have dropped Molly off at school by then, and we should have plenty of time to devise some way to get Peter out of the way, so we can contain Sylar properly."

"I'll see you at nine then." Noah left the apartment and called to report the situation to his superiors. He worked into the night trying to devise a plan for getting Sylar away from Peter with no one getting hurt.

Once Noah had left the apartment, Matt turned the coffee back off and said, "I'm going back to bed."

Mohinder gave Matt a side long glance as the man shuffled off to bed. He looked at the time, it was one AM, and nine was going to come all too quickly. Mohinder sighed pushing himself up out of the kitchen chair and heading back to bed himself.

The week had been enlightening for Sylar as he followed Peter through his normal every day life. He couldn't believe how selfless Peter was, and the longer he was around him, the more Sylar wanted to emulate him.

Now, it was the weekend, and Peter had told him he had a surprise in store; it was going to be a special day, and Sylar found himself waking to the smell of pancakes simmering on the stove and a big grin plastered across his face.

Peter had been true to his word; it had been a special day. It started off with a large homemade breakfast before the two had rode out of town. Peter took him up into the mountains where they did a little hiking, stopped for a nice lunch before hiking back down. What followed was a scenic drive down old country roads where all the changing leaves painted the backdrop for a menagerie of nicely built historic mansions. As they traveled they were able to relax and just talk one on one about nothing in particular other than getting to know each other. When they'd reached the bottom of the mountain, Peter pulled off down a dirt road that led to an out of the way dairy farm that made homemade ice cream; it was the most delicious ice cream Sylar had ever tasted, and by the time they were back in the city, the sun was setting and both were exhausted.

Sunday hadn't been as fun starting off with cleaning house and doing laundry, but by the time all that had been taken care of, the two had went to Central park and rented a canoe to row around in for a few hours followed by a trip past Strawberry Fields where a cover band was playing John Lennon for a small crowd of appreciative listeners. By late afternoon, both were sitting on the living room couch kicked back reading a book when the phone rang.

Peter answered the phone, "Hello?"

On the other line Nathan responded, "Hey there stranger; I was calling to find out if you were still coming over for dinner tonight since you canceled on me last Sunday."

Peter smiled, "Hey Nathan. Of course we're coming, and I already said I was sorry about last Sunday. We'll see you in about an hour."

Nathan chuckled replying, "I know, I know. I just have to give you a hard time. Dinner won't be ready until around seven, so take your time. I'll see you soon."

"See you soon." Peter hung up the phone. He knew Nathan was going to ask him how things were going with Sylar, and as he thought back over the week, he was happy that he could honestly say things were going very well. He turned to Sylar and said, "Ready to go meet the family?"

Sylar glanced up from his book and gave him a half smile as he responded, "No, but I don't see as I'll have much of a choice in that department will I?" he joked.

Smiling Peter said, "Well you're right about that."

**************

Peter and Sylar arrived at Nathan's house about six thirty. After knocking on the door, Peter put a hand on Sylar's shoulder in an attempt to let him know that things would be fine no matter how the dinner went.

Nathan came to the door with a smile opening it wide enough for the two to come in. He gave Peter a welcoming hug and said, "Come on out to the backyard, I decided the weather was so nice today that we'd grill. The tables already set, and the kids are out on the lawn playing horseshoes."

Nathan let his eyes drift down to Sylar and gave him an uncomfortable practiced smile he'd perfected as a politician. He asked, "And how are you?"

Sylar deciding to stay cordial only stated a quick, "Fine."

Nathan nodded and looked back up to Peter and motioned to the study before saying, "After dinner, we can spend a little time going over some things I wanted to discuss with you," he looked back down at Sylar for a moment before asking, "Are we going to be able to leave him unattended?"

Sylar's eyes darkened at the insinuation, and he frowned but said nothing merely looking to Peter to see what he would respond.

Peter saw the look on Sylar's face when he heard Nathan's comment, and knew it had upset him. Wanting to get things straight with Nathan from the start, Peter said, "I know that you don't know him all that well, but Gabriel and I have spent a lot of time together over the past two weeks, and I think we've started to trust each other. I'm fine with him hanging out with Monty and Simon while we talk."

Peter turned to Sylar and thought to him, 'Give Nathan a break, and let him get to know you before you get defensive. He only knows what he's read about you.' And then Peter asked him out loud, "Do you mind entertaining the kids while we talk later on?"

Sylar's lip twitched in slight agitation, but he nodded is acquiescence responding, "I guess I can manage that."

Nathan gave Peter an apologetic look as he replied, "Sorry Pete, I guess I was a bit judgmental, but you can hardly blame me." He looked down at Sylar as he added and held out his hand to shake, "Let's try to wipe the slate clean shall we?"

Sylar looked at the hand in front of him with a frown for a moment before conceding and taking it in his own hand to complete the shake as he responded, "Deal."

Nathan smiled back up at Peter and said, "Well, now that that is settled, I hope you're hungry because I've got some prime beef to grill and a side of skewered shrimp to throw on next."

Pleased that they both seemed to be trying, Peter smiled and said, "Sounds good, thanks."

He turned to Sylar and said, "Come on, I'll introduce you to the kids."


	28. Along Comes a Spider

Peter and Sylar walked out back and as soon as Simon saw Peter he called out, "Hi Uncle Peter!"

Monty followed and both ran over to give him a quick hug. Peter returned the hugs and then said, "Hey guys, I want to introduce you to someone. This here is Gabriel, and he's going to be staying with me for a while."

"Why?" Monty asked.

"Because his parents aren't available, and he's too small to live on his own."

This answer seemed to satisfy the kids for now, and Simon asked Sylar, "Wanna play horse shoes with us?"

Sylar grinned remarking, "Sure," as he followed Simon and Monty back to the area set up for playing. There was also a net set up for badminton with a few racquets not far off from the horseshoe area. The sun was starting to go down by now, but the back yard was well lit with iridescent poled lamps that surrounded the property.

When the kids had walked off, Nathan turned and walked over to the grill lifting up the lid to check the coals progress. Seeing the coals were ready, he began placing the steaks on the grill. When he'd finished the task, he turned back to Peter and said in a low rumble, "Now tell me honestly, are you really okay with this… this set up you've got going? You know I trust you Peter, I'm just worried you might be spreading yourself a little too thin here."

Peter gave Nathan a knowing smile and said, "You trust me, but you still think it's a really bad idea for me to let him live with me."

Nathan snorted, "I'd be lying if I said no. Like I said, I trust you, I just don't know if you can continue to handle such a responsibility by yourself. There's only one of you. That brings me to what I wanted to discuss with you, you remember that old cabin mom and dad bought out in Georgia?"

"Yeah; what about it?" Peter asked curiously.

Nathan flipped the steaks as he continued, "I've taken the liberty of digging the key up for you. I figured since I knew you'd be too stubborn to ask for my help, if things got a little bit overwhelming, you might take him out there to get your head straight. It's pretty well secluded, so you shouldn't have to worry about him causing any trouble since there isn't another soul around for miles."

Peter smiled at Nathan and thought about all the times his brother had been there for him throughout the years. He said with sincerity, "Thanks Nathan, it's good to know you've always got my back. I don't think I'll need it, but I'll take the key just in case. Gabriel and I are getting along better then I would have thought possible. Some of that is due to me having faith in his ability to change, but most of it is due to Gabriel wanting to change himself."

Peter's phone rang before Nathan had the chance to reply. Peter saw the number and said, "It's work. I've got to take this."

Peter answered, and after a short conversation he hung up. He saw Nathan looking at him questioningly and Peter said, "One of the other nurses called in sick. I've got to fill in for her tomorrow morning. How's the food coming? It smells great."

Nathan poked the steaks and their juices sizzled onto the coals below; satisfied, he lowered the lid on the grill as he answered, "About eight minutes should be good. Did you want a drink? There's some red wine already out on the kitchen counter, and there's some soda and juice in the fridge."

Peter said, "I'll grab myself a soda." He turned to Sylar and called out, "Gabriel, do you want something to drink?"

Sylar who had just taken his turn was standing on the sidelines watching Monty throw a horseshoe when he heard Peter call out to him. He turned shouting out, "Sure, an ice water would be great!"

Peter grabbed them both a couple of drinks and went back out to watch Nathan finish cooking. Soon they were all eating, and the kids kept the conversation going so there were no awkward moments between Nathan and Sylar. Nathan gave Peter the promised key as Peter and Sylar were walking out the door to go home.

..............................................

Noah clicked his phone shut, turned to Matt and Mohinder, and said, "It's all set. You guys want to go over the plan once more, to make sure you know what's going on?"

"I think that's a good idea." Matt said.

Noah nodded and said, "Peter's already agreed to fill in for someone at a house that's new to him. I'll have my people undercover and ready to meet him at the front door. Sylar will be with him, but we're going with the assumption that Sylar's powers are still gone, so Peter is the only threat. As soon as Peter crosses the threshold of the bedroom, he'll trigger the automatic sprayers which will put him to sleep almost instantly. Then we can come in and take over custody of Sylar."

Matt said, "You have to make sure your people understand that Pete reads minds, the fewer people in the house the better. It would help if they sang a song in their head whenever they aren't talking to Peter. It's distracting while trying to read someone."

Noah nodded and said, "Thank you for the advice." He turned to Mohinder and said, "Do you have anything to add?"

Mohinder shook his head no, "I'm just ready to get Sylar off the streets once and for all."

Monday morning followed with a regular visit to the Paulson's where Maddie over excitedly hugged Sylar hauling him off to show him her new board game, and by mid afternoon Peter and Sylar had eaten lunch and were heading over to a Mrs. Akrin's where Peter had informed Sylar they were visiting as a favor for Karen a fellow Hospice nurse that was out sick for the day.

The apartment was located in one of the many ghettos of Brooklyn in a run down building in need of some serious pressure washing. The two climbed out of the car and walked across the street towards the apartment's entrance. Sylar's eyes traveled up the length of the tall building as he remarked, "Thank gods this client is on the second floor; I somehow doubt this building has an elevator."

Peter laughed at that and teased, "I could always carry you if you get too tired." He held the door open for Sylar to go into the building.

Sylar scoffed lightly as he walked through the front door responding with a smile, "Aren't you just Mr. Funny man with all the jokes. Better be careful, I might take you up on that offer."

His smile faded as he took in their surroundings; the place looked like a crack head hideout with dingy yellowed walls and scuffed, chipped, stone floors leading to a zigzagging stairwell which was covered in office carpet that had several spots where the carpet had been worn so thin you could see the concrete slab beneath. From looking at the edges of the carpet, Sylar could tell the original color of the carpet was a sky blue, the rest of the carpet was stained a tar black from the traffic it had seen. The railing leaned slightly and looked as if someone had thrown a refrigerator down the stairs or something equally as heavy and the railing had somehow managed to survive the attack. The stairwell was too small for the two to travel side by side, so they made their way up the steps single file with Sylar in the lead.

Sylar's lip curled in disgust as he watched the roaches scurrying for cover. He put his hands in his pockets not wanting to touch any of the hallway's unpleasantness as he spat snidely, "No wonder this lady is dying; it's unhealthily gross in here. You'd think with the state of dilapidation this place is in, the fire marshal would have boarded it up as a hazard by now."

Peter was equally as disgusted by his surroundings, but didn't like Sylar's tone. He put a hand on Sylar's shoulder to stop his progression up the stairs, and when Sylar turned to look at him, Peter said, "I agree that it's gross in here, but that's not a good reason to make light of someone dying. We're here to make her last days better and easier then they would be without us. Understand?"

Sylar lost eye contact at Peter's words feeling slightly guilty as he responded, "I wasn't meaning it like that you know, but yeah, you're right, I should be a little more considerate."

"I know you didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to make sure you knew how it sounded." Peter patted Sylar's shoulder once and then said, "How about tonight we go out flying for a while? Help both of us forget that people actually live in a place like this."

Sylar gave Peter a half smile responding, "You know, all things can't be fixed by going flying… but, I guess it's a good start." His smile broadened into a cheesy grin as he thought absently, 'How do you always know how to make me feel better after pointing out I'm being a big jerk?' Sylar turned back to continue climbing up the stairs as he asked, "So, what apartment number is she in?"

Smiling to himself at Sylar's thoughts, Peter said, "224."

The two of them continued to climb the stairs to the second floor. Once they were in the dimly lit hallway, Peter commented with disgust, "Smells like cat pee mixed with rotting trash up here."

Walking side by side they went down to the end of the hallway and found the correct apartment. Peter knocked on the door, and a couple of seconds later a black man in his late twenties opened the door. Peter said, "Hi I'm here from Hospice care to see Mrs. Akrin."

The man opened the door wider and said, "My mom is in the first bedroom on the right."

Peter and Sylar walked into the apartment, and both were pleased to see it looked reasonably clean, and didn't smell nearly as bad as the hallway had. The man had a Kanye West CD playing, and Peter could hear him singing along in his head to the words. As soon as the man shut the door behind them, he went back to washing dishes and ignored them.

Peter thought this was strange, but shrugged and headed towards the bedroom with Sylar following closely behind. Peter knocked once on the bedroom door and called out, "Mrs. Akrin?"

Getting no response, Peter opened the door and stepped in, only to have a fine mist sprayed in his face. He was too startled and confused to react at first, but the instant the spray hit his face, he started to feel dizzy. He heard someone in the room thinking, 'We've got him now!'

Peter felt himself falling, and he turned to Sylar and slurred out, "Run!" before collapsing onto the floor unconscious.

Sylar stared at Peter as he fell; Peter's words did not really register as he shouted, "Peter!" Sylar had not noticed the mist that had sprayed Peter, and his first reaction was to race up to Peter's side in a panic as he thought, 'Oh God, oh God, Peter! What the heck?' It was then that Sylar noticed the faint mist and coughed feeling slightly lightheaded. He quickly placed the sleeve of his jacket over his mouth and nose as his eyes traveled up to the ceiling pinpointing where the toxins had leaked from.

Sylar looked back down at Peter worriedly as he thought, 'I can't leave him here! Maybe if I can get him away from this mist, he'll snap out of it!' Sylar grabbed a hold of Peter's leg and dragged with all his might to pull Peter away from the doorframe. It took all the strength he had to pull him a few feet away. He dropped down beside him shaking Peter in a desperate attempt to wake him as he shouted out, "Peter! You've got to wake up!"

Peter's head lulled limply to the side. About that time, Sylar spun around on his knees to face Noah, Mohinder, and Matt barreling into the room. Sylar's jaw dropped in shocked surprise.

Noah had a taser pulled and aimed on Sylar ready to fire it into either Sylar or Peter if they had presented a threat, Mohinder followed his lead into the room, and Matt followed to wrap around to cover the other side with a similar taser. Mohinder didn't stop in his stride as he reached Sylar roughly snagging him up off the ground by his bicep as he spat, "Say goodbye to your little friend; it's the last you'll ever see of him."


	29. Interogations

Matt looked back and forth between Sylar and Peter and realized that Sylar must have pulled Peter away from the mist in the doorway even though that would have been nearly impossible with his current body mass. Matt watched Mohinder grab Sylar and yell at him, but before Sylar could respond, Matt yelled at Mohinder, "Check Peter for Christ sake. Don't you care if he's okay?"

Noah rolled his eyes and said, "He heals, of course he's okay."

Noah knew that if Sylar had any powers he would have used them already, so he put his taser away, and got a bottle of chloroform and a clean rag out of his suit jacket. As he was pouring some of the chloroform on the rag he said, "Welcome back to the company Sylar."

Sylar pulled away viciously as he screamed out, "NO!"

Mohinder grinned down at him with great satisfaction as he held him fast by both arms as Noah wrapped the cloth around his mouth and he breathed the burning fumes in sputtering and jerking in a desperate attempt to get away. Within moments, Sylar's vision began to blur and the world went black.

Noah tossed the rag on the floor and said to both Matt and Mohinder. "Load him up in the back of the car while I debrief my agent."

Matt looked over at Peter and said, "What about Peter?"

Noah shrugged, "What about him. Leave him here, he'll be fine."

"Leave him here?" Matt didn't like the sound of that at all. In fact this whole thing just seemed less and less right as each moment went by.

Noah tried to be patient and spoke to Matt slowly, "He's more of a threat to us out in the open like this then the other way around."

Seeing that Matt probably wasn't going to be all that helpful Noah said to Mohinder, "Put Sylar in the car please. I'll meet you out there."

Mohinder scooped the limp form up and over his shoulder. As he turned to leave, he saw Matt still staring off worriedly at Peter. He grabbed a hold of his shoulder with his free hand and stated, "Snap out of it; this is for the best… besides, Peter never saw us coming. We got Sylar; it's over now."

Matt tried to shake himself out of it and nodded at Mohinder. Matt tried to think about all those months of searching for Sylar and looking at the bodies of the people he'd killed. "Yeah, I know you're right, Sylar needs to be locked away.... I just hated going behind Peter's back."

Matt followed Mohinder out to Noah's car, where Mohinder put Sylar in the back and sat next to him. Matt sat in the passenger seat and they waited for Noah.

Noah spoke with his fellow agents and gave them instructions for making sure there had been no witnesses, and to get out fast before Peter woke. A few minutes later he arrived at the car and headed them all to a holding facility that the company owned in upstate New York.

A very short time later Noah was carrying Sylar through the building with Matt and Mohinder in tow. Noah got Sylar into a cell and shut the door behind him. The three men looked at Sylar behind the glass. Matt said, "What now?"

Noah said, "I'd like both of you to stay here until he wakes up." Noah looked at Matt and said, "You can stay out of his line of sight and read his thoughts to make sure he's telling us the truth." He turned to Mohnider and said, "And you can take some blood samples to make sure your serum is working and his powers are gone for good."

Mohinder nodded moving into action to get the supplies he needed to extract some blood samples. It didn't take long for Mohinder to extract a few test tubes worth, and as he did so, he couldn't help feeling a small pang of guilt for going behind Peter's back, but he justified to himself that they really had done the right thing. Peter was better off, they all were better off. Mohinder took his samples and headed up to the lab facilities the Company had provided promising answers within a few hours' time.

When Sylar awoke, his head felt as if it were stuffed with cotton and from the dampness in the air and the cool chill given from the metal sheet he was laying on, it left him with no doubt that he had been locked away in some secured facility of the Company to rot. It wasn't until he let his eyes flutter open did he see Noah watching him. He was tied down to the gurney, so the only movement he could manage was to lift his head off the table and scowl at the man in front of him as he spat, "Congratulations the big bad Company took down a man in a seven year olds body with no powers; this must be a proud day for you."

Taking no notice of Sylar's comment, Noah started the questioning. "Tell me how your body changed from a twenty nine year old man, into a seven year old boy."

Sylar's mind traveled back to how this all came to be, and the first feeling that came over him was shame at what he had been. He let his head lower back down onto the table as he stared up at the ceiling thinking, 'It was an act of God…a leash to cage the demon I'd let loose upon the world. Maybe there still is a bit of mercy out there even for someone like me.' He didn't feel like explaining how it had happened, and he certainly didn't want to appease Noah of all people, so instead he elicited to say nothing at all.

Matt was standing just out of sight, listening in to Sylar's thoughts, and was amazed by what he heard.

Noah's cheek twitched in irritation when he heard nothing but silence from Sylar. He said calmly, "I'm sure if you're not up for a conversation, we can give you something to loosen up your tongue. Let's try again. We know you've been living with Peter Petrelli for the past two weeks. You hate him, so why did you stay with him that whole time?

Sylar's eyebrows knitted together in frustration at Noah's threat as he spat, "Why do you care? You've got me here now, what does it matter why I stayed?" He thought, 'Someone like Peter is a hard man to keep hating... he's one of the few people who actually wanted to believe I could be something better... not to mention he spanks pretty damn hard, so running away was just not a good option!'

Matt's jaw dropped open at that one, and he just had trouble believing it. It seemed so wrong. Sylar wasn't actually a kid; he was an adult. But the more Matt thought about Peter, and what he was trying to accomplish by keeping Sylar, the more it made sense. And it had obviously been working, because the last time he'd read Sylar's thoughts, they'd been murderous, and now he seemed to have some respect for Peter.

Noah smiled and said, "It matters because we keep tabs on all of you, not just those of you who cause chaos and destruction. Did Peter tell you how his ability works? Have you seen him use his powers?"

Noah thought, 'That's something the Haitian will need to remove. If we don't wipe out all of his memories that is.'

Matt felt kind of sick as he listened in on Noah's thoughts, and wished he hadn't agreed to this without checking in on Peter to see how things were going first.

Sylar growled in agitation, "Tabs? This what your definition of keeping tabs is? You've got some audacity! All of you people think you know what's right when you're just as bad as the people you lock away. I'm not answering any more of your questions, so you can just take a flying leap." He thought, 'This is what I really deserve; I'm a monster. I have no right to be happy, but I sure as hell am not going to drag Peter under the bus with me.'

Noah was calm as he said, "I didn't think you'd actually talk willingly. Lucky for me, you don't have to be willing. I'll be back."

Noah walked away, and Matt who was still hidden from Sylar's view followed. Once they were far enough away, Noah said, "What was he thinking?"

Matt wasn't sure he really wanted to give Noah any information, finding himself trusting the man less and less as he got to know him. He said, "When you asked him about how he got changed into a child, he didn't think about the woman who changed him. He thought that it was the work of God helping to stop a monster. When you asked him why he stayed with Peter he was thinking that he stayed because Peter was the only one who believed he could change. And he doesn't want to repay Peter by giving you information on him."

After a pause Matt said, "His thoughts are very different now then they were when we first found and captured him. He's changed for the better."

Noah sighed and said, "He must have known you were there."

"I don't think so."

Noah shook his head and ignored Matt. He said, "Well let's take a break and see what Mohinder comes up with. Then we'll see if we can get Sylar to talk."


	30. In the Belly of the Beast

Peter moaned as he woke up. He put his hand up to his head, feeling woozy. He pushed himself up to sitting and thought, 'Why am I on the floor?' He looked around, finally realizing where he was and called out, "Sylar?!"

After a short pause he yelled, "Gabriel are you here?!"

He used his mind to try and search for any nearby thoughts but found none. He got himself up and searched the tiny apartment, only to find it empty. "Damn it!"

The less foggy his brain got, the angrier Peter became. He yanked out his cell phone and dialed Mohinder's number.

Mohinder was examining a slide of Sylar's blood when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He sighed pulling his tired eyes away from the microscope and dug his phone out of his pocket. Peter's name flashed across the phone's message bar as both Noah and Matt rounded the corner.

Mohinder held up the phone for the two to see as he stated, "It's Peter. Should I answer it?"

Matt looked to Noah to see what he would say. Noah answered, "Yes. Don't tell him where we are, but try to reassure him this is for the best."

Mohinder gave Noah a quick nod in acknowledgement and flipped the phone open as he answered, "Peter, before you say anything, I want you to know we have Sylar, and he's safe, locked away where he can never hurt anyone ever again."

Peter shook his head with disbelief. "How dare you! Instead of coming to me, you went behind my back, drugged me, and stole him! I thought we were friends Mohinder."

Mohinder retorted angrily, "I stole him from you because I am your friend! The truth of the matter is you think that you can control him Peter, and for two weeks you have, but what about a month down the road? He's a killer, and I don't care how badly you think you've got a handle on him, you're not a one man army, and eventually, you will slip up, and he will escape. Do you want his future murders on your hands?"

"He wasn't trying to escape from me, and he wasn't going to kill anyone! I want him back. The company is only going to make him worse, and if he does end up killing again, it's going to be on your hands not mine!" Peter shouted, getting more upset the more he thought about it.

Mohinder growled into the phone, "You don't know what he's capable of Peter, and until you can calm down, this conversation is over." Mohinder clicked the phone shut shaking his head in frustration as he announced, "He's not going to see reason. His mind is already made up."

"Arrg!" Peter yelled in frustration as he heard Mohinder hang up on him. He stuck his phone in his pocket and ran his hand through his hair thinking about his next move. He was pretty sure that Mohinder knew where they were holding Sylar, and probably Matt as well. He also knew that Mohinder and Matt would eventually come home, so he decided to head to their apartment to wait for them. He wasn't sure if either of them would be willing to give him information, but he had to try.

Matt and Mohinder were headed home for the night, having helped out with Sylar as much as they could. Mohinder had verified that the serum was still working, and Sylar had no powers. Matt had stood in the background and read Sylar's mind when asked. When they were a few blocks away from their apartment Matt turned to Mohinder and said, "Did they ask you to go back tomorrow? I've got to go to work, but I can take Molly to school if you need to go back."

Mohinder was lost in thought and answered distractedly, "Huh? Oh… no, no they won't be needing me back tomorrow." He hadn't taken his eyes off the road as he thought about how strange he felt about the whole situation with Sylar now; he felt like he should be ecstatic and happy that they had done what they had set out to do. They had put Sylar away for good. And although he felt it was the right thing to do, he no longer relished the idea like he had.

Looking at Sylar lying in a ball with his knees scrunched up into his chest against the cold concrete wall and a distant far off stare dominating his face, it left little to feel accomplished about. Mohinder kept telling himself it was the child's body that made him doubt his actions and not the subdued and almost defeatist attitude Sylar had taken on leading him to believe that maybe Peter really had made a difference and Sylar was actually feeling guilt and remorse for what he'd done.

Peter paced around the apartment, wondering what horrible things the company was doing to Sylar, and trying to think of the best way to convince Matt and Mohinder to help him. He thought about being invisible when they arrived, but he knew Matt would be able to sense him, and he wasn't ready to go deceive them they way they had deceived him. But if he couldn't convince them to help, he might spend a day shadowing Mohinder and reading his thoughts to get Sylar's location.

Peter heard a key in the door and stood still waiting for his 'friends' to enter.

As Matt put his key in the door to their apartment he turned to Mohinder and said, "If you start on dinner, I'll go upstairs and pick up Molly..."

Matt turned away from Mohinder quickly and focused on the door. He said, "Peter's here." right before opening it.

When the door opened the three men regarded each other for a few seconds, and then Peter said, "Please help me get him back. He's not dangerous anymore, and he wants to change."

Mohinder sighed hating to see the look in Peter's eyes directed at him. They were accusatory and bewildered; he had known that look before reflected in his own eyes when he had questioned his father about coming to the states to follow his research. A misunderstanding turned into an argument, and it was the last he ever saw of his father before Sylar took his life.

Mohinder's eyes darkened as he responded, "Wanting to change isn't good enough for him Peter; he is a killer, and no matter how good of a therapist you think you are, it doesn't change that fact. He's in a safer place now, and you should just let him go. After all he's done, he's really not worth your care and devotion."

Knowing Mohinder wouldn't change his mind; Peter looked to Matt and said, "Matt, Please."

Shaking his head Matt looked down and said, "I'm sorry Peter." Then he thought to Peter, 'I'm sorry we took him. It was wrong. I can see that now. Pretend to go along with what Mohinder says, and I'll meet you in the hallway in a few minutes. I'll tell you where they're keeping Sylar.'

Feeling a glimmer of hope Peter thought to Matt, 'Thank you.' Then he turned back to Mohinder and said, "I know that he's done horrible things, but the thing you don't understand is by putting him in the company's care, you're doing a horrible thing. I'll find him, with or without your help. I was just.... I was just hoping you would have changed your mind after seeing him."

Peter headed towards the door and thought to Matt, 'I'll be invisible and waiting.'

Mohinder did felt conflicted about the decision he'd made, but still had enough anger not to let it waver his resolve as he responded, " I really wish I could give him back to you in good faith that you could and would prevent him from killing again Peter, but I can't, and I won't. I do hope that one day you can forgive us and look past this moment and see that what we did really is for the best for everyone involved."

He moved around Peter and into the house as he added; "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a little girl who's going to want dinner here shortly. I trust you can see your way out as you saw your way in."

Peter walked out of the apartment past Matt and walked down the hall. He opened the door to the stairs and walked through it. Once he was in the stairway and alone, he made himself invisible and phased back through the door to wait for Matt.

Matt looked over at Mohinder and said, "I'll go get Molly. Be right back."

Matt shut the apartment door behind him and started walking towards the elevator to go up two floors where Molly's babysitter lived. Matt thought about Molly and knew that if someone tried to take her away from him, he'd fight to keep her. And after hearing Sylar's thoughts and seeing his dejected form in the cell earlier that day, he knew he had to try and make things right. He couldn't tell where Peter was, but he knew he was close.

He thought, 'Sylar is in a company holding facility upstate. It's well guarded, but they won't be expecting you. I'm going to try and send you a mental image of the place. Get in the elevator with me.'

'Okay I'm in.' Peter thought back.

Matt concentrated on recalling the images of the facility, both inside and out, including the street name and address of the facility. The last image he sent was of Sylar in his cell. He heard Peter curse in his head at that image.

The elevator bell went off as they reached the babysitter's floor. Peter became visible before the door opened, and Matt turned to look at him.

"Thank you. I won't forget that you helped me." Peter said with honesty.

Matt gave him a short nod. "If you manage to get him out, the two of you better lay low for a while. Give me time to smooth things over with Noah and Mohinder. Try to make them understand."

Peter nodded and walked down the hall to the stairs. He headed to the roof and flew towards the facility.

Noah couldn't say if he was pleased with the work he had done today or not. He'd caught Sylar and put him away for good, which pleased him. And he'd confirmed that Sylar's powers were gone. But he wasn't finding the whole thing as satisfying as he'd hoped. He wanted Sylar to be angry, wanted him to put up more of a fight. They'd taken blood samples, done some testing, and asked him a multitude of questions even though Sylar hadn't been particularly responsive.

Holding a tray with some soup, Noah walked into Sylar's cell. They'd had him for hours and hadn't offered him any food. Noah knew that when his kids were younger, they'd want to eat something every few hours, and hoped Sylar was hungry. Closing the door behind him Noah said conversationally, "You know Gabriel, the company has been watching you for a long time now, and I have to say there's poetic justice to you ending up in a child's body. Not only have you been stripped of your powers, but you've been stripped of your manhood as well. Powerless both legally and physically, at the mercy of every adult you encounter. You do see the irony in that, don't you?"

Sylar was hungry, but he didn't feel like eating. He had been lying curled in the same spot since the Company had finished their poking and prodding. Noah's words had cut like knives, and would have otherwise gotten a rise out of him, but as of now, he accepted where he was as being the punishment he deserved. He brought his eyes up slowly to the piercing stare that met them responding, "I do see the irony… ultimate power corrupts, and I am no exception to that rule."

With a pleased smile Noah said, "Good. So why don't you stop trying to resist, and start answering my questions. Tell me about each of the powers you aquired, and then I'll let you have some dinner. It's chicken noodle soup, and it's hot."

Sylar scowled at Noah the anger beginning to well in him once more as he responded, "So that's how it's going to be? You're going to withhold food for answers? I'm not your puppet, and I'm not going to play this game with you; I'd rather starve." Feeling he'd said his peace, Sylar rolled over to face the wall scrunching up more tightly to shut out Noah and this horrible place.

Not put out by Sylar's refusal, Noah said, "Okay, I'll just take this back to the kitchen then. But starving isn't an option. We put a lot of time and energy into getting you; we're not going to let you starve yourself to death. If you refuse to eat tomorrow, we'll hook you up to an IV. You should think about that tonight. The more you fight us, the worse your living arrangements will be." Noah turned and left, taking the food with him.

Sylar's frown deepened as he contemplated how bad his situation could get. Noah clicked the light off covering him in darkness, and a single tear slid down his nose as he clutched his pillow his mind racing at the thought of what was to come in the morning and how long he could truly hold out from the Company. They had many resources and ways of making one talk, and Sylar knew it would only be a matter of time before one of their many tactics penetrated his armor. He would hold out as long as he could with all the fight he had left in him.


	31. The Disappearing Act

Peter was able to find the company's holding facility without much trouble. Once he was a few blocks away from the building, he turned himself invisible. Flying around the building a few times, close up, he took note of the location of exits, windows, and guards. Once he had an idea of how big the place was, he landed, and phased through the front door, keeping himself invisible.

Once he was in, Peter started walking through the facility to get the layout of the building. Again he kept track of guards, exits, and cameras. Soon he found the main surveillance room. There were two guard's playing cards, and keeping half an eye on the twenty monitors that were in the room. Sixteen of the monitors showed the sixteen cells that were in the building, and the other four monitors showed the hallways.

Peter looked closely at the monitors, and soon found the cell Sylar was in. He didn't like what he saw. Sylar was huddled up into a ball, and Noah was leaving Sylar's cell. Peter watched Noah take the ID badge off his shirt, and then swipe it on the panel next to the door. The door opened, and Noah walked out. Peter kept an eye on Sylar and could tell he was crying.

Peter was looking at the badges the guards had, trying to see if they were the same as Noah's, when Noah came into the room. He started talking to the guards while putting his jacket on. "No one is to have any interaction with him. If something goes wrong, you call me immediately. No one goes into the cell; no one comes out of the cell. No one talks to him on the intercom, no one takes him any food or blankets. Remember, he's not a child, he's an adult, and he's a murderer."

Clenching his fists while thinking about how satisfying it would be to punch the smile off Noah's face, Peter took a good look at his badge. Once Noah was gone and the guards were alone, Peter looked at their badges. They were the same, and one of the men had his badge on his jacket, which was on the back of his chair. Peter quietly took the badge, worrying that his powers might not work down in the cells. Badge in hand, he followed the electrical circuits from the monitors, and followed them through the walls. Once he found the main circuit, he used his radiation powers to fry it.

He heard the guard's surprised reaction, and knew he had to hurry. He stayed invisible, and ran through the halls, phasing through all the doors. As soon as he got to the lower level, he held up the badge to the door, and the cell door slid open. Letting himself become visible again, he made eye contact with Sylar and rushed over to his side. He said, "Are you okay? We need to get out of here fast."

Sylar's eyes widened in surprise as a big smile quickly formed on his face and he exclaimed, "Peter! You… you came for me!" He was surprised that Peter was able to find him so quickly and grateful that he did.

Smiling back, Peter walked over to Sylar and picked him up. "Of course I came for you. I'm going to try and make us both invisible, so we can get out of here without a fight."

Peter focused and within seconds the both of them were invisible. Peter said, "Hold onto me and keep quiet. I'm going to be phasing us through doors, so don't yell if you see a wall coming at you. Ready?"

Sylar whispered, "Yeah, I'm ready when you are." He put his arms around Peter's neck pulling him into a tight hug and feeling safe in Peter's hold as he thought, 'Thanks for not leaving me here.'

Peter held Sylar a little closer, hugging him back, and started to move through the building. The guards were in a panic trying to figure out what had damaged the monitors, and making sure the dangerous people were still in their cells, which gave Peter time to walk out without attracting anyone's attention. As soon as they were outside of the building, he flew the two of them up into the air, and then let the two of them become visible again.

As they were flying Peter said, "Did they hurt you? Are you okay?"

Sylar tried to keep his voice calm but it still wavered slightly as he acknowledged Peter's question, "I'm fine. They didn't hurt me… just took blood and made threats..."

Relived that he'd gotten Sylar out before they physically hurt him, Peter tried to sound reassuring as he said, "Threats that they won't be able to follow through on. I'll make sure they don't get you again."

As he finished his sentence, they arrived at Peter's apartment. He landed on the fire escape, and took them in through the window. He set Sylar down on his feet and said, "We need to pack some bags quickly, and get out of here. It won't be long before they figure out it was me, and come for us."

Sylar nodded and sped over to grab some clothes out of the drawer below and flopped them onto his bed before going over to the book shelf to grab the books he hadn't read and a couple of the ones he really liked. By the time he'd done that, Peter had placed a gym bag on the bed for him to put his things in as he went back to busily packing his own things along with towels, toothbrushes, and nonperishable groceries. Sylar had finished long before Peter had, and as he watched Peter bustle about trying to get everything they would need to get them by, he wondered out loud, "Where are we going to go that the Company can't find Peter?"

While packing Peter answered, "My parents own an old cabin in Georgia. It's out in the middle of nowhere, and pretty run down, but no one will be looking for us there. The only other person who knows that I have the key is Nathan."

Peter had three gym bags full of stuff and figured that was all he was going to be able to carry while flying and holding Sylar. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Nathan's number, hoping his brother was able to pick up.

Nathan had just settled into bed less than an hour ago when he heard his phone buzzing on the night stand. He let it buzz for a few rings before sighing tiredly and swiping it into his hand. He sat up straight seeing it was Peter and knowing from how late it was something was definitely amiss. He flipped the phone open answering groggily, "Peter, it's almost midnight; what's going on?"

"I'm going to be gone for a while, and I didn't want you to worry. The company took Sylar today with help from Matt and Mohinder, and tonight I took him back with some help from Matt. We're going to go hide out for a while at... the place you suggested."

Nathan listened worriedly as he tried to process everything in his still sleep addled brain. He responded, "Okay Peter; that sounds like a good idea to go to mom and dad's cabin. But you two are going to need food and supplies; how are you doing with money? Do you have enough to hide out for a couple of month's time?"

Rolling his eyes Peter thought to himself 'Way to be stealth Nathan, I hope no one is listening in or recording this conversation.' To Nathan he said, "I'm not too worried about supplies, we can fly to grocery stores that aren't close to where we're staying, but money... well money might be a problem since I don't want to use a credit card. Could you please call my work for me tomorrow and let them know I'm taking an emergency leave of absence, and I'm not sure when I'll be back?"

Nathan still a little out of it wiped at his eyes and responded, "Yeah, yeah sure. I can take care of that for you tomorrow morning. Give me twenty minutes and then come meet me, I think I can help you out a little. Can you do that?"

Knowing Nathan always had his back, Peter smiled and said, "Okay, and thanks. We'll be there in twenty."

Peter hung up the phone and looked at Sylar. "Nathan wants to see us before we go, so we have some time to wait. When was the last time you ate?"

Sylar looked down at the ground thinking about the soup Noah had offered before realizing that it had been quite awhile since he had eaten. His stomach gurgled in protest as he looked back up at Peter with a frown and said, "When we ate lunch last."

"Bastard!" Peter said while thinking of Noah. He put a hand on Sylar's shoulder and lead them to the kitchen as he said, "Let's get you fed. What do you want to eat?

Sylar smiled at Peter and said readily, "Anything you're cooking."

Smiling back, Peter went to the refrigerator, got out some ravioli that was leftover, and put it in the microwave. While it was warming up, he buttered a piece of bread and handed it to Sylar. As soon as the microwave buzzed, Peter got it and put it on the table in front of Sylar. Sitting down at the table next to Sylar, Peter waited for him to have a few bites and then said, "You sure you're okay? Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Sylar ate ravenously thinking that raviolis never tasted so good. He didn't want to discuss what had happened at the company as it was all decidingly unpleasant. He shook his head no and said, "There's nothing really to talk about; I'm okay now... really." He never let his gaze leave the bowl of food in fear that Peter might actually see just how much the experience had really bothered him.

Peter doubted things were okay, but he let it go for now. He put a hand gently on the back of Sylar's head and said, "If you change your mind about that, I'll be ready to listen."

Peter put his hand down and said, "I'm going to go through our bags once more and make sure I didn't forget anything. As soon as you're done eating, let me know and we'll head in Nathan's direction. I don't know how long the apartment will be safe."

Sylar nodded speeding up a tad to finish his meal a little more quickly to get out of the apartment as soon as possible.

As Nathan hung up the phone he made his way down into his study and opened his safe pulling out a couple grand thinking that should get Peter through a month and a half at least. He dug around until he found one of the promotional pre-paid phones he'd received for advertisement sake during his campaigning; it had 150 minutes on it, and even though not much, it was enough that Peter could contact him off the grid for emergency sake. He put both the cash and the phone into a belt pack and sat down in his leather backed chair to wait for Peter's arrival.


	32. Into the Woods

As soon as Sylar was done eating, Peter put the bags on his shoulders, picked up Sylar and flew over to Nathan's house. He'd been wondering if the weight of the bags along with Sylar would be a problem, but it didn't cause him any extra strain while flying, and he was sure the flight to Georgia wouldn't be an issue. Once they got to Nathan's house, Peter put Sylar down and knocked on the door.

Nathan was quick to answer the door looking from side to side to make sure no one was watching them enter as he ushered them in and to the study. He grabbed the belt pack off the desk and placed it into Peter's hand as he assured, "There should be enough money in here to keep you afloat for a little while. I put a prepaid phone in the bag programmed with the number to another prepaid phone I just activated. The number is in your phone's memory so you'll have my number, and I'll have yours. When you guys get to the cabin, give me a call to let me know you made it."

Peter opened the belt pack and looked inside flipping through the bills quickly. A little overwhelmed with his brother's generosity Peter looked up at Nathan, and after a short pause while he tried to figure out what to say, he pulled Nathan into a tight hug. "Thank you. I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

Nathan hugged him back responding, "I'm not worried about the money, I just want you to stay safe; now go on and get out of here." Nathan pulled out of the hug and gave Peter's shoulder a squeeze as he added, "I'll do what I can to keep them off your trail, and after a month or two I'm sure I can convince them to back off."

Throughout the embrace, Sylar watched on thinking, 'This is my fault; Peter's life is being flipped upside down because he wants to help me. No one has ever done anything like this for me.' Knowing that Peter might be reading his mind, Sylar moved his train of thought to taking in Nathan's study as the surface thoughts that started to follow Sylar was sure Peter wouldn't approve of, but sometimes Peter needed protecting as well.

Too emotional over what his brother had said to concentrate on Sylar's thoughts, Peter gave Nathan one more smile and then turned to Sylar. "Let's go."

Soon they were in the air, and thirty minutes of fast flying later, they were at the cabin in Georgia. While flying, Peter had been preoccupied with thoughts of how to make sure the two of them were safe at the cabin. Once they arrived, Peter set Sylar down, unlocked the door, and took a look around. It was better kept then Peter would have imagined, and he said, "Doesn't look like we'll need to do much in the way of clean up to get it livable. I'll start a fire, and you unpack some of the food."

Sylar was amazed at how fast they had flown from New York to the cabin in Georgia, and he was extremely glad Peter had made a point to have him bundle up. As Peter left to gather some wood, Sylar thought about how hard he was making Peter's life. It was then he made up his mind; he would wait until Peter was asleep, and then he would leave. He decided; it would be better for both of them if he just simply wasn't in Peter's life.

Peter went out to get some firewood. The roof on the right side of the cabin extended six feet off the side of the house to make a covered area, that was somewhat protected from the elements. There was a large stack of firewood there, which would last for days. He gathered up some wood and went back into the cabin to find Sylar standing in the same spot he'd left him in.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked, and tuned into Sylar's thoughts for the first time since calling Nathan.

Sylar saw Peter and smiled responding, "Oh, nothing," as he shook his head to clear his thoughts focusing on the bag with the food in it as he thought, 'Oh yeah, unpacking, that's what he wanted me to do. Get your head out of the clouds Gabriel.' He grabbed up one of the gym bags Peter had laid on the sofa and began digging the contents out to purvey what foods Peter had brought. None were overly tasty selections. There were various cans of vegetables, some refried beans, and a couple of boxes of macaroni and cheese. His lip curled as he thought, 'I'm glad I got raviolis before we left!' As soon as the thought crossed his mind he looked back at Peter apologetically knowing he'd probably read that thought.

Relaxing after hearing some normal thoughts from Sylar, Peter smiled reassuringly and said, "We'll get some better food in a couple of days once we get settled."

Using the hatchet by the fireplace, Peter cut some chips off the larger pieces of wood to make kindling, and within a few minutes had a fire going. Once he was sure it wasn't going to go back out, he focused on the cabin. It was small with the living room and kitchen combined into one large room. The only door in the cabin other then the front door was a door to the small but functional bathroom. There was a ladder next to the kitchen area which led to a loft with a large bed. The only other furniture in the cabin was a ratty couch that had seen better days, and a dusty kitchen table with three chairs. Peter muttered, "Home sweet home."

Sylar arched an eyebrow and tried to be reassuring, "Well, at least the weather is a little warmer down here than it was up North… and I did take the liberty of grabbing that book you'd been reading earlier since I knew you weren't thinking about it." He trailed off looking at the fireplace a moment before fetching it along with the book he had been currently reading as he handed it to Peter he said, "Why don't you relax and let me fix you some mac & cheese?"

Peter took the book, pulled Sylar into a hug, and said, "Thank you for trying to make the best of it." Letting him go he held up the book and added, "And it's very sweet of you to remember my book, and to want to make me some food."

Looking over at the food Peter realized he hadn't had any dinner. He'd been so caught up in trying to make sure the two of them were safe, that he hadn't noticed. Remembering the coffee incident, and not wanting to see Sylar get burned with a pot of boiling water that he might not be strong enough to actually get to the sink, Peter said, "I am hungry, but how about the can of minestrone soup instead."

Sylar blushed at the hug but still readily accepted it hugging back and beaming at the appreciation. His eyes followed Peter's to the stack of splayed out food easily picking out the can of soup. He walked over to it snatching it up as he turned to ask, "Are you sure that's all you want?"

"I'll have some crackers with it." Peter went and sat down on the couch, relaxing for the first time that day. He opened his book and quickly got lost in the story.

Sylar busied himself making the soup for Peter. He was glad that the stove was shorter than the one in the apartment, and he only had to stand on his tip toes to reach the knobs. It was a propane tank that powered the stove, and the tank was located in a cabinet under the stove. Sylar opened the cabinet and twisted the gas on. Realizing he needed a lighter or some form of fire to light the pilot light he sighed in agitation. Knowing Peter would likely be uneasy with him trying to light the pilot light without being able to really see it, he asked for help, "Hey Peter, I need a light to start up the gas; can you bring a lit twig or something to light this?"

"Sure." Peter got up found a smaller piece of wood next to the fireplace, and held the end of it in the flames for a few seconds. Once it was burning, he walked over to the stove and lit the pilot light for Sylar. Walking back to the fireplace to toss the wood into it Peter said, "I didn't realize how tired I was until I sat down for a second. It's been a stressful day for both of us. I think we should call it an early night tonight after I eat something."

Sylar agreed, "Yeah, I could use some sleep." The soup took about ten minutes, and while Peter ate, Sylar readied himself for bed digging out his toothbrush and Peter's and bringing them both along with the toothpaste over to the sink. The sink kicked from deep within as water that had not pushed its way out of the pipes for years sputtered forth evening out after a moment as Sylar remarked, "I guess it's been a long time since you guys have used this place huh?"

Peter swallowed a bite and thought back to the last time he'd been here. "Yes it has. I don't think anyone's been here for a couple of years."

As soon as Peter was done eating, he washed the dishes and put them on the rack next to the sink to dry. Then he walked up the ladder to the loft and checked the bed, pulling off the large clear plastic tarp that was covering it. He made sure the blankets that were on it were still clean and that no animals had decided to make a home in the bed. Once he'd checked it out, he went back down the ladder. Sylar was ready for bed and sitting on the couch by the fire reading his book. Peter said, "It's a big bed, I think we can share if you don't mind."

Sylar looked up towards the loft and agreed, "I don't see that being a problem." Sylar then let his eyes drift back over the paragraph he had just read to find his place once more and continued reading.

Peter got some pajamas out of his bag and went into the batrhoom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Once he was done he went over to the fireplace and made sure the screen was secure. He turned to Sylar and thought about telling him to go to bed, but after everything they'd been through that day, he figured Sylar deserved some trust. Besides that, they were out in the middle of nowhere, and he felt relatively safe from the company here. Peter said, "I'm headed up to bed. Don't stay up too late okay?"

Sylar lifted his eyes up from his book to regard Peter as he responded, "Okay. Sleep well Peter." He thought, 'Everything is going to get better soon Peter, I promise.'

Walking up the ladder again, Peter climbed into bed and fell asleep within minutes.

Sylar read his chapter, and when he had finished, he heard the gentle snores wafting down from the loft. Peter was definitely out. Sylar set his book down with a sigh; he knew what he had to do even if it really hurt Peter. He quietly sifted through the small desk in the corner by the fireplace and found a sheet of paper and a pen and began writing:

Peter,  
Please don't think that I don't appreciate everything you've done for me, but I know that I'm messing up your life by merely being a part of it. So, I'm going to make it easier on you by taking myself out of the equation. Don't look for me; by the time you read this I'll be long gone.

Gabriel

Sylar looked over the letter once more, and satisfied with what it said, he folded it in three and placed it in Peter's book. He then quietly changed, slipped on his socks, shoes, jacket, and grabbed up his unfinished book slipping it into his pocket before easing out the front door.

His heart was pounding in his ears as the adrenaline pumped through his veins. He hadn't really gotten a good look at the layout of the land since it was so dark when the two had flown in, but he did know that walking straight down the dirt road would not likely be the best bet to get away from Peter without him being able to find him, so Sylar veered off down a visible wooded path hoping that it would lead him down to a town that he could disappear in by morning.


	33. Reunited

Peter woke up with the sun shining into the window of the loft. He felt well rested and turned to wake up Sylar only to find out he wasn't there. Frowning, Peter wondered how late is was, and how long he'd slept. He got up and climbed down the ladder to see if Sylar had made himself something to eat for breakfast. He looked around the empty cabin and started to panic. "Gabriel?"

He reached his mind out for Sylar's thoughts, and found nothing. Peter started to panic as he thought the company had found them. He checked the front door for signs of forced entry, but found it unlocked. He muttered to himself, "I know I locked it."

He looked around the cabin for any kind of clues as to what might have happened, and quickly noticed a piece of paper sticking out of his book like a bookmark. He grabbed it and read the letter Sylar had left him. Anger and irritation mingled with compassion and understanding as he read. "Damn it."

He shook his head thinking that Sylar was going to get himself killed while trying to protect Peter when he wasn't the one who needed protecting.

Grabbing some clothes and his watch, Peter got dressed quickly and tried to figure out how long Sylar had been gone. Once he was dressed, he grabbed his jacket and a few granola bars and headed out the door. He flew into the air, and started looking for Sylar, calling out his name when he got to dense areas of trees, and trying to listen for Sylar's thoughts at the same time.

Sylar had walked until the sun had come up which was at least five hours. It all looked the same, and he had hoped by the time the sun had illuminated his surroundings that he would be feeling more assured in the direction he was going. He didn't, and in fact he was getting increasingly more worried as the morning grew on. By mid day, Sylar had thought he'd passed by the same trees and must be traveling in circles.

He was utterly lost, and he was tired and hungry to boot. He had stopped and rested throughout his journey, but now he sat on a log motionless and staring off at nothing in particular as an utter despair began to settle in as he seriously contemplated never being able to find his way out of these woods again.

He sat for a good hour feeling sorry for himself for ending up in such a position, and in a mad plea of desperation he screamed out at the top of his lungs, "PETER!" He let the word echo through the woods a moment before rising off the log and calling out again and again until his voice began to grow hoarse and a panic began to take hold of him as he wandered aimlessly through the woods shouting out Peter's name.

As the morning progressed, Peter got more and more worried. He'd tried flying in large circles around the cabin with no luck. He'd tried tracking Sylar on foot with no luck. He'd flown low to the trees yelling Sylar's name with no luck. To make matters worse, as he'd strained to hear any kind of response from Sylar, he'd started to get a serious headache.

By early afternoon, Peter wasn't sure if his headache was effecting his hearing, or if his hearing was causing his headache, but he kept hearing odd noises, and his head pounded.

Half an hour later, Peter had almost decided to call Nathan and ask him to get together a search party, when he heard a very distant voice calling his name. He hovered in the air and looked all around on the ground. He was up high enough, that he thought he should be able to see someone who's voice had reached him, but he didn't see anyone. He strained to hear, and a few seconds later, he heard his name shouted out again. Looking in the direction the sound had come from, Peter still didn't see anyone. Then it dawned on him. He was using Sylar's hearing ability, which hadn't manifested itself until today.

Heading in the direction that the sound was coming from, Peter focused his new and improved hearing on the sounds of a small person walking through the woods and yelling his name. As he flew further and further while following the sound, Peter was amazed by, and grateful for his new power.

When Peter finally saw Sylar, relief rushed through him because Sylar was obviously unharmed, and looking for him too. Peter flew down and landed a few feet in front of Sylar.

Sylar was so happy to see Peter that he hugged him tightly and exclaimed, "Peter! Thank God you were able to find me! I thought I was never going to be able to find my way back to civilization!"

Hugging him back tightly for a few seconds Peter reassured him, "It's gonna be okay. I did find you, and you're safe now."

After a few minutes to calm down, Peter gently loosened Sylar's grip, and keeping a hand on each of Sylar's upper arms, he knelt down on one knee in front of him. Looking Sylar in the eye Peter said, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Sylar still just happy to be found nodded his head and smiled gratefully as he responded, "I'm starving, but other than that, I couldn't be better."

With exasperation Peter gave Sylar a tiny shake and said, "What were you thinking running off into the wilderness like that?! What if I hadn't been able to find you?"

Sylar's brow creased as he frowned thinking, 'Well, I hadn't exactly expected to get lost in the woods. You weren't supposed to find me Peter; I was trying to do you a favor.' He responded with a shrug and a sarcastic, "Just because I'm in this body doesn't make me helpless; I would have survived."

Closing his eyes for a second, Peter took a deep breath and refrained from putting Sylar over his knee right then and there by talking himself out of it. 'We're both hungry, I still have a headache, and he's probably dead tired.'

Peter opened his eyes and after giving Sylar a disappointed frown, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the one granola bar he hadn't eaten yet. He handed it to Sylar and said, "This was a poorly thought out plan on your part Gabriel. I understand that your heart was in the right place, but it was the wrong thing to do. Did you bring any provisions for yourself in case you got lost?"

Sylar blinked as he processed what Peter had said. He hadn't really planned very well, and provisions would have been a good idea had he thought of them, but then he also hadn't figured he'd still be in the woods by mid afternoon. He dropped his gaze to the granola bar in his hand as he mumbled out a sheepish, "No."

He was very hungry and wanted to eat the granola bar Peter had given him, but now he was too embarrassed and proud to let himself be seen as needy, so he stuck both his hands and the granola bar into his jacket pockets before looking back up at Peter.

Peter's disappointment left him feeling ashamed of what he had done as he added, "I'm sorry Peter; I didn't mean to snap at you. It's been a long day... but I guess I don't need to tell you that."

Pulling Sylar into a strong hug Peter said, "It's okay. We've both had a bad day."

Letting Sylar go, Peter stood up. "I'll fly us back after you eat the granola bar. Don't pretend that you're not hungry, you just told me you were starving, and when we're flying I want both your hands free to hold on."

Sylar accepted the hug and although wanting to shy away, he found himself hugging back. When Peter had released him, he wordlessly pulled out the granola bar and ate it. No longer in a state of duress, Sylar was immediately exhausted as he turned his weary eyes up to Peter and acknowledged Peter's demands by loosely waving his emptied hands in the air and remarking, "Happy? No more granola bar."

Sylar didn't feel much like flying at the moment, but it sounded much better than walking. Getting back to the cabin, and more so a bed, was even more appealing now that he had something in his stomach.

"Ecstatic." Peter muttered as he picked Sylar up and flew them both into the air.

The flight back to the cabin only took a few minutes. Once they were back, Peter set Sylar down, opened the front door, and got Sylar moving over the threshold with a swat. "Go make us some soup while I make a fire. You can take a nap after we eat."

Without waiting for a reply, Peter turned to walk towards the side of the cabin to get some firewood.

Sylar stiffened at the swat spinning around in shock as Peter walked back outside. Sylar hadn't thought about those kind of consequences when he'd taken off, but with Peter's subtle reminder, Sylar wondered, 'He wouldn't spank me for this would he? I mean, I wasn't technically running away, but more just trying to help...' Sylar shook these thoughts out of his head thinking, 'No, he's just irate and wants me to get a move on making the soup, and he said after I eat, I can take a nap, so everything is going to be okay.' Sylar let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding relaxing a little at the thought that after his nap, the two would be able to sort this whole thing out with a long talk which Sylar was dreading since he wasn't much on discussing his feelings, but he owed Peter that much he presumed.

Sylar quickly moved to the couch where the food still sat splayed out in a display of sorts. He glanced through the cans and grabbed up two cans of clam chowder and hurriedly brought them into the kitchen to begin making.

Listening in to Sylar's thoughts, Peter had a hard time believing that Sylar wasn't expecting a spanking for running away. As he stacked wood in his arms he thought, 'Not only for running away, but for putting himself in danger too, good intentions or not.' Peter shook his head once and then thought, 'But first things first. I want us both to be feeling better before we talk about what happened.'

Peter got as much wood as he could carry at once and brought it in. He noted that Sylar was making the soup as requested, and then dumped the wood next to the fireplace. Before starting to make the fire, Peter went over to the bags, and rifled around until he found the aspirin. Walking to the kitchen Peter got a glass of water to take the aspirin with and saw what Sylar was cooking. After he swallowed the pills he said, "Smells good. I'm hungry too."

He went back to the fireplace and started building the fire.

Sylar felt awkward now unsure of how to act. He had betrayed Peter's trust, and he knew that it was going to take a long time to get it back. He frowned remembering Peter's disappointment in him and how it had made him feel. Silence was best Sylar thought as he tried to get lost in the monotony of stirring the chowder. He watched Peter as he built the fire up, got it going good, and adjusted the gate, and before Peter turned back to face him, Sylar looked away to the stove and said, "It should be ready in a couple minutes. I'm going to go wash up." He didn't wait for Peter to respond as he set the spoon across the pot and jetted into the bathroom closing the door behind him.

Once Sylar was in the bathroom, Peter got out a couple of bowls and spoons and set them on the table. He checked on the soup, and once it was boiling, he poured some into each bowl and turned the heat off on the stove. He started eating and noticed that his headache was getting better. The combination of knowing Sylar was safe, having less pain in his head, and getting warm food in his stomach, all made him feel much more like himself then he had since realizing Sylar was gone that morning. He called out to the closed bathroom door. "It's ready, you should come eat before it gets cold."

Sylar had washed up fairly quickly but left the water running as he stood in front of the sink splashing the cool water on his face to get his head straight. He heard Peter call out to him, and he shut the water off wiping the water off his face with the towel he'd brought in from the night before. He took his time folding the towel and placing it back across the tub where he'd gotten it. He was hoping that if he'd stalled long enough, Peter would be almost finished eating by the time he came out of the bathroom.

When Sylar didn't respond, Peter listened in on his thoughts, and realized Sylar was avoiding him. Peter understood why Sylar would want to avoid him, why he would probably want to forget about what he'd done entirely, but Peter wasn't going to let him. Peter raised his voice slightly and said, "Hiding in the bathroom isn't going to change what happened. Come eat."

Sylar growled to himself before wiping his face clear of emotion and stepping out of the bathroom. Peter was right, he had been avoiding him, but he hadn't planned on admitting that anytime soon. Peter was still sitting at the table where Sylar saw he had a place set. He moved up to his chair and quietly slid in. He looked up at Peter, and feeling he should say something he asked idly, "How's the soup?"

Taking the last bite of his soup Peter said, "I thought it was good."

Peter stood up and took his bowl to the sink. He washed his dishes and the pot, letting Sylar eat on his own. When he was done washing he turned and saw that Sylar was mostly done. He walked over and put a gentle hand on Sylar's shoulder. "What time did you sneak out of here last night?"

Sylar's shoulders slumped as Peter reminded him just how long it had been since he'd had a decent amount of sleep. He responded tiredly, "I don't know... an hour or so after you went to bed."

Peter rubbed Sylar's back in small circles and said, "Go upstairs and get some sleep. It's been a long and tiring couple of days for you."

Sylar couldn't think of any better suggestion as he responded, "Yeah, you're right, I'm exhausted." He finished off the last of his soup and went to take his bowl into the kitchen, but Peter grabbed it for him. Sylar didn't mind as he followed Peter's instructions and headed up the stairs passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Peter washed the rest of the dishes and then went half way up the ladder to check on Sylar, who was fast asleep. Grabbing his book, Peter made himself comfortable on the couch and started to read. He'd decided to let Sylar sleep until he woke up on his own.


	34. The 'Talk'

Sylar had passed out around three in the afternoon, and he didn't stir again until a little after ten. He stretched languidly out across the expanse of the king sized bed blinking his eyes to focus on the neon green clock. He noticed Peter wasn't next to him, and when he got off the bed and looked out across the loft he saw Peter had his book on his lap as he had nodded off on the couch sitting up. Sylar noted the door had been bolted shut this time and thought, 'He doesn't even trust that I won't try to take off again.' He frowned dejectedly as he descended the loft steps feeling rather guilty for putting Peter through such hell.

Peter jerked awake at the sound of the wood on the ladder creaking. He'd slept lightly, worrying about Sylar trying to run off again. He saw Sylar standing at the bottom of the ladder and then turned to look at his watch. Deciding Sylar had gotten a decent amount of sleep, Peter knew he shouldn't put off the talk they needed to have any longer. Smiling at Sylar, Peter stood up and said, "Did you sleep well?"

Seeing Peter smile made Sylar feel a little better as he smiled back and answered, "I feel much better now; thanks. I noticed you passed out yourself. You know, there's plenty of room on that king sized bed, you could have come up instead of sleeping down here in that incredibly uncomfortable looking position." As if sensing that Peter wanted to talk, Sylar wanted to be the first to address the incident now that he'd rested and his wits were fully about him. He hesitated a moment thinking what he wanted to say and trying to read Peter before adding, "I know you don't trust me now, but I want you to know I was only trying to make your life a little easier; that's why I took off. I know that isn't going to make you trust me any sooner, and it's not an excuse, it's an explanation."

Peter walked over to Sylar and put an arm around his shoulders. He started leading them over towards the kitchen table as he said, "It's kind of ironic that part of what made it possible for you to get away last night was the fact that I had started to trust you."

Peter sat in one of the kitchen chairs and pushed another one out slightly with his foot, indicating that Sylar should sit as well. "So why don't you explain to me how you thought things would be easier for me with you gone."

Peter's remark about his trust making it possible for Sylar to take off sent a pang of guilt through him as he let out an audible sigh. He knew this discussion was coming, but it didn't make it any more easy to prepare for rested or not.

Sylar was never one to like confrontation, and until he'd gotten his powers, most issues he either completely avoided or complied with as little arguing as could be had just to get the confrontation over with. But he wasn't that person anymore, he'd tasted power, he'd found the ability to stand up for himself and to make others quake in fear at his very presence, yet for some reason even though this conversation was on his list of things he most didn't want to do, he didn't resist being led to the table by Peter, and he wordlessly took the cue to sit in the chair Peter had pushed out for him.

As he got settled in the chair, he thought about the best way he could word how he felt so that Peter could understand his reasoning for leaving. As he did so, he couldn't help wondering why Peter had such sway over him when they had been staunch enemies less than a month ago, and he came to the assumption that he truly did feel Peter cared for him and wanted the best for him for Sylar's own sake verses for some imagined pedestal that he didn't feel he could ever live up to.

Peter was waiting for an answer, so Sylar responded, "You want to know why I left? It's because you're a good person Peter, you don't deserve to be cut off from society and your life just because you're having to watch out for someone like me. I figured without me around, you could go back to New York and pick up where you'd left off before I brought all this drama and hardship into your life."

Peter leaned forward with his forearms on the table and looked at Sylar intently. "You need to listen to me closely Gabriel. I'm the one who decided to have you live with me, not you. It's not your fault that we have to hide out here; it's the company's fault. I don't blame you, and I'm not angry with you for my life being turned around. If I had it to do again, I'd make the same choices. And if I hadn't been able to find you today, I would not have gone back to my old life, I would have kept looking."

Sylar lowered his eyes in shame; he had wanted Peter to be understanding and agreeable, and in turn seemed to make him more indignant for even suggesting such. He responded almost hesitantly, "I'm sorry Peter. I really don't know what else to say other than it was a misunderstanding, I thought I was doing what was best for both of us. Can you forgive me?"

Peter could tell Sylar already did feel bad about what he'd done, and wished the spanking wasn't necessary. But he'd made running away a clear cut, black and white rule with a pre-existing consequence for breaking it, and he didn't think it would help Sylar's rehabilitation to go back on that now. And he was worried that if he didn't go through with it now, Sylar would be more likely to run away again under other circumstances.

"I accept you apology, and I do forgive you, but that doesn't mean you get out of punishment. We've talked about running away, and I told you what to expect if you did it." Peter pushed his chair further away from the table and said, "So come here."

Sylar's eyebrows furrowed in both fear of what was to come and shock as he had really expected not to have to face a spanking again. Seeing Peter push away from the table to give Sylar a place across his lap only served to make him more nervous and regretful over his presumptuous choices as he pleaded, "But… I said I was sorry. I… I thought we could just talk this out since I didn't really mean any harm. I know what I did was wrong now, so you really don't have to go to such extremes... really!"

Feeling sympathetic, Peter said gently, "I won't change my mind about this. You need to understand that this rule is non-negotiable."

Sylar frowned irritably as he responded, "That's easy for you to say; you're not on the receiving end! I'll be good, and I promise I won't run away again." Sylar looked to the door wanting to run away again that instant. The thought of willingly going over to Peter to get spanked made his stomach lurch. His face flushed in embarrassment as the overwhelming want to cry washed over him. He kept thinking, 'How the hell did I land myself in this position again? There's got to be some way to convince Peter this isn't necessary."

With a frown Peter said, "I hope you won't run away again, but if you do, you'll know what to expect. Now you can come over here, or I can come get you. Either way you're getting spanked."

Sylar's throat tightened at Peter's words as he thought, 'He's not letting this go; I'm going to get it one way or another, but I can tell he feels bad about doing it, so maybe I can at least convince him not to be so harsh.' The act of giving in to letting himself get spanked left him feeling light headed as he slid off the chair and slinked over to Peter. Tears had already sprang to his eyes as he came to the conclusion there was no need to hide what was already to come and perhaps letting Peter see how upset the act of getting a spanking made him it would manipulate Peter be easier on him. He pouted and said pitifully, "Please don't do this Peter! I said I was sorry! Why can't that be good enough?"

Peter was pleased that Sylar was accepting enough about the spanking that he'd come to him, but he felt a twinge of guilt when he saw that Sylar already had tears in his eyes. Wanting it over quickly, Peter picked Sylar up and put him across his lap. He pulled the sweat pants Sylar was wearing down along with his underwear and said, "Being sorry isn't enough when you've deliberately disobeyed me, and gotten yourself into a potentially deadly situation in the process."

Peter started spanking hard and fast, as he thought about Sylar lost in the woods for hours, and the possibility of not having found him.

Sylar sucked in his breath as Peter placed him across his lap; he almost fought not wanting to give up so much control, but as quickly as the feeling came it was washed away in a wave of humiliation as his pants were tugged down and the cool night air reminded him that he was one step closer to the worst part of all this. A chill ran up his spine as he looked back just in time to see Peter's hand raise and the determined look in his eyes before his hand slammed down on his very vulnerable bared bottom. He cringed away in shocked pain as the first one made him realize no matter how prepared he thought he was; there really was no preparing for this.

It hurt! And after the first few swats, Sylar began to squirm as he owed out his growing discomfort. The slaps were hard, and at the speed they were coming, it made it difficult to think straight as Sylar yelled out, "Okay! Enough! I get it! Stop!"

Peter didn't stop, and instead made sure to cover every inch of Sylar's butt and upper thighs with heavy slaps while he lectured, "You could have died out there in the wilderness, and I'm not okay with that. You will not run away for any reason, and you will not put yourself in danger."

Sylar bucked as the pain became unbearable and the tears spilled unabated down his cheeks. Peter's words rang in his ears, and he knew that his running off was dangerous, and Peter was right to be angry with him. The pain grew to be too intense, and unable to not interfere any longer Sylar put both hands back to cover his now very heated and sore bottom as he squalled out desperately, "I'm sorry Peter! I… I won't! Ahh! It was stupid!"

Peter paused in the spanking long enough to grasp both of Sylar's wrists in his left hand and held them out of the way in the center of Sylar's lower back. Peter finished the spanking by giving Sylar a swat for each word as he said, "Every time you run away, I am going to spank you."

Sylar whimpered in dismay at the ease Peter removed his hands from blocking the now very tender area. His back arched as every stinging swat burned Peter's message both into Sylar's brain and his backside. Giving into the punishment Sylar collapsed limply across Peter's lap and sobbed as the last few swats were delivered letting go of all the pent up guilt, fear, and frustration he'd felt since he'd been kidnapped the day before.

A second after he'd given the last swat, Peter let go of Sylar's wrists and started rubbing his back. After giving Sylar a few seconds to calm down enough to realize the spanking was over, Peter leaned down and pulled up Sylar's underwear and sweats for him. Picking Sylar up and flipping him over so that he was sitting in his lap, Peter put his arms around Sylar and held him while he cried.

Sylar wanted to hate Peter for spanking him, but as Peter pulled him into his arms, all he wanted was solace for his pain both physically and emotionally. He buried his face into Peter's chest as he cried himself out. When his crying had finally settled, he mumbled a watery, "I'm sorry... I... I never meant to scare you Peter."

Peter rubbed Sylar's back in comfort and said, "I know, and I forgive you. No more running away okay? I really don't want to do this again."

Sylar wiped away the remaining tears on the back of his sleeve as he murmured, "I don't think you'll have to worry about that any time soon." He gave Peter a half hearted scowl as he grumbled, "I really wish you'd find some other way to make your point because this way really sucks!"

With a tolerant smile in place Peter changed the subject. "How about a late dinner? I'm sure some macaroni and cheese will make you feel better. That and some down time to read a book and get some more sleep."

Sylar thought, 'Nice avoidance there Peter.' He sighed and nodded feeling a bit hungry from only eating soup earlier. He responded, "Mac & Cheese sounds fine." When Peter set him down, Sylar wandered over to his jacket and pulled out his book bringing it over to the couch to sit and read while Peter cooked. His bottom was still smarting, and sitting on the couch served to remind him of this fact, so he rolled over onto his stomach. He didn't feel horrible like he had the last time Peter had spanked him, and he gathered that was because this time he really felt like he'd deserved it. Now that the whole ordeal was over, Peter wouldn't bring it up again, so Sylar knew deep down that the incident was squashed and he had been forgiven. That in itself left him with an inner calm.

As Peter was cooking he thought about the past few weeks that Sylar had been living with him. Sylar had changed for the better in a very short amount of time. Peter was ninety eight percent sure that by the time Sylar's body was back to its adult size, Peter could let him live on his own without fear that he'd go hurt someone. And if he couldn't... well he'd just have to make sure that he could.

Peter split the macaroni and cheese into two bowls, and took them over to the couch so Sylar wouldn't have to sit on a wooden chair to eat. He handed the food over and said with a smile, "You know, we left the apartment so fast that we forgot to bring any board games. Maybe we'll have to fly over a few states tomorrow and buy a chessboard so we don't go crazy while we're here."

Sylar scooted over to give Peter room to sit down and smiled up at his suggestion to get a chessboard as he remarked, "That sounds like a plan, and maybe we can pick up some cards and a few more books…" he trailed off thinking about living at the cabin as he asked, "How long do you think we'll have to stay here?"

Peter thought about it for a few seconds and said, "I'd say at least two weeks. I need to call Nathan and see if his connections in the government can give us any sway for getting the company off our backs. Or maybe my mom knows someone who can help."

Peter turned to Sylar and said, "Actually you've spent some time at the company before, and had more contact with Noah then me. Do you know of any way to assure him you're better off with me then at the company?"

Sylar grimaced as he responded, "He doesn't believe there's anything good about me. Can't your brother just get us new identities or something? I mean he is a part of the government right?" Sylar knew this was likely not possible as the government wasn't like what the movies made it out to be, but he really had no viable suggestion to make that could help the situation.

Peter put a hand on Sylar's knee and said, "Noah's wrong about you, and he doesn't run the company, he's just an employee. I think our best bet is to appeal to someone higher up then Noah, and hopefully Nathan can arrange that. I have no idea if Nathan could help get us new identities, but that would be a last resort. I don't want either one of us to have to pretend to be people we're not unless we have to."

Peter took his hand off Sylar and grabbed his own fork instead. "Eat up while it's still warm. We're both here together where it's safe for now, and we have plenty of money and supplies."

With a teasing smile Peter said, "Just think of a few weeks in the cabin as a vacation."

Sylar dug his fork into his food as he snorted replying derisively, "Yeah, this vacation's starting off with a real bang."

Peter chuckled and hoped the rest of the 'vacation' was more relaxing.


	35. Breathe Again

Four weeks later Peter was more than ready to go back to some kind of normal life. He was sitting on the couch on a Friday night looking over at Sylar who had fallen asleep reading his book. Peter checked his watch and saw that it was ten at night. Going to get a spare blanket, Peter covered Sylar up, and then stood there looking at him for a few minutes while his mind wandered over the past few weeks.

The company hadn't been able to find them, but the money had recently run out, and the boredom had started to get to both Peter and Sylar. They were still getting along, and had in fact grown quite close over the past four weeks, but they both missed electronic entertainment as well as contact with other people.

Thinking about what he needed to do, Peter got out one of the disposable cell phones he'd bought, and walked out the front door so his conversation wouldn't wake up Sylar. He didn't want to get Sylar's hopes up if the plan he'd been thinking about didn't work. He dialed Nathan's number and hoped it wasn't too late to call.

Nathan had just gotten home from a director's dinner party. There had been dancing and schmoozing with the big dogs, nothing more than to get people in his pockets later down the road. At times this life exhausted Nathan, but the parties were usually a small perk. He had settled back in his recliner to watch the evening news when he heard the phone. Knowing only a select few had this number and seeing the phone number wasn't recognized, he answered the phone cautiously, "Mr. Petrelli speaking, may I help you?"

Smiling at the sound of his brother's voice, Peter said, "Hi Nathan, how've you been?"

Nathan was both happy and surprised to hear from his brother as he responded, "Pete! It's good to hear from you. What has it been… two weeks? I was starting to worry about you."

"It's good to hear your voice too. It's been a really long two weeks, and that's why I'm calling. Gabriel and I need to come home. We've done fine here, and if we had to we could stay longer, but it's getting old. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a safe way for us to come home, and I have a plan. I was hoping you'd help me put it into motion."

Nathan's eyebrow raised in concern as he responded hesitantly, "I'm all ears… what kind of plan did you have in mind?"

"I need you to get in touch with Noah for me, and see if he'd be willing to compromise. He hasn't found us yet, and you know that has to be eating at him. Tell him I'd be willing to have a weekly check in with the company if they'd be willing to let me keep Sylar and leave us alone the rest of the time. See what he says."

Nathan knew that Peter was right, and he would eventually have to bring Sylar back and go back to work again. He responded, "Alright Pete; I'll see if I can get a hold of him in the morning. Let me talk to him in person and really get a feel for his true feelings on the subject. Call me back in a few days, and hopefully I'll have something worthwhile to report."

Relieved to have a plan of action going, Peter smiled and said, "Thanks for your help... again. Oh, and you might try talking to Matt first. He helped me get Sylar out, and he may be willing to help you with talking to Noah."

Nathan agreed, "I'll call Matt first to get the low down on what Noah and Mohinder have been up to. Hopefully we can get this sorted out before you call me back. Either way, we'll figure something more permanent out than the cabin."

"Okay sounds good. I'll call you in a couple days." After they said their goodbyes, Peter went back into the cabin, checked to make sure Sylar was still sleeping, and then went to bed himself.

Nathan awoke early that morning, arranged to have a personal day, and called Matt's cell phone. When Matt answered, he set up a 10AM meet at a Starbucks down town, so they could discuss Peter and Sylar's fate.

Matt had been in the area, and Nathan was pleased to see was already there sitting at a table when he arrived. Nathan smiled and extended his hand to Matt as he said, "Long time no see."

Matt half stood and shook Nathan's hand before they both sat down at the table. "It's good to see you Nathan. What did you want to talk about? You said it had to do with Peter and Sylar?"

Nathan shook Matt's hand and sat down across from him giving the room a quick glance before continuing the conversation, "I need you to find out Noah and Mohinder's feelings towards Peter bringing Sylar back home. They've been gone well over a month, and that should prove something in the fact that Peter can care for Sylar. He said he's willing to work out a compromise between them where he is Sylar's charge, but Noah can come by to check up on the situation. How do you think that will blow over with them?"

Matt personally thought it was a good compromise. "I just spoke with Noah yesterday. He called to ask if we'd heard from Peter or Sylar. I think he's running out of options for trying to find them. So my guess is that he'd be okay with it. I can't promise that Noah won't try anything underhanded once they come back to town, but now that Peter's proven he can stay under their radar, the chances are low. I doubt Mohinder will ever be okay with it since Sylar killed his father. But since he's not in charge of the company, I doubt his opinion is going to matter that much. You want me to call Noah right now? We could set up a meeting with all of us."

Nathan nodded his approval and replied, "Let's do it."

Within two hour's time, the four of them were joined at Matt and Mohinder's apartment.

Noah and Mohinder had arrived together as Mohinder had been at the company's lab all day, and Noah had picked him up on his way to meet up with Nathan and Matt. Mohinder had no beef with Nathan and was cordial greeting him with a hand shake and a small smile as he remarked, "Noah briefed me that Peter was going to bring Sylar back under some mutually agreed upon stipulation. So what do you purpose?"

Nathan was pleasantly surprised that no one in the room seemed hostile… yet. Noah hadn't voiced his opinion or said anything for that matter since the two had arrived.

Nathan responded, "I don't need to tell you about Peter's ability to keep Sylar hidden, that point has been proven, but what I am here to discuss is how everyone in this room can be satisfied with some sort of agreement on the custody and rehabilitation of Sylar. Obviously keeping him in the Company's custody is a no go, and having Sylar out there without any form of keeping tabs on him is a no go for you, so what can we do to meet somewhere in the middle so everyone can get on with their lives?"

Noah hated his job sometimes. If he'd been allowed to kill Sylar back when they had him in custody the first time, none of this would be happening. Just last week, his boss had clearly told him that if he couldn't locate Sylar within the next week, they'd have someone else assigned to the case, someone who wasn't afraid to go behind Mohinder's back to use Molly. So now he'd be forced to compromise. As a business man for the Company, Noah understood compromise, and often found it the only way to get any sort of resolution. But it still irked him that Peter had been able to keep Sylar hidden for so long, and that Peter was going to be allowed to keep him under his care.

Now he was here in this meeting, trying to be careful of his thoughts since Matt was in the room and setting up a compromise for a serial killer. Noah said, "The Company agrees to let Peter keep Sylar in his custody for the time being. We want 24 hour surveillance in the apartment. We want medical checkups for Sylar once a week to check his growth rate, and to assure us that his powers are still inactive. We also want an agreed upon list of who Sylar can be left with when Peter isn't available."

Nathan listened thoughtfully to Noah's demands before replying in kind, "24 hour surveillance at every entrance is doable, but in the house is too invasive. The checkups can be done as long as they are in home visits or off Company grounds. As for a list of people Sylar can be left with, I'm sure I'll be on that list, and Peter can decide on who else can help maintain a watchful eye on him. Does that sound agreeable?" Nathan held out his hand to shake on it.

Looking at the hand in front of him for a few seconds while thinking it over, Noah eventually took it and shook once before letting go. "Agreed, though I'd like to hear it from Peter himself, and I'd like to put our agreement in writing. I can have the cameras installed today. I can arrange the first checkup for Sylar as soon as they come home."

Nathan gave a small nod as he responded, "I have to wait until he calls me back, but as soon as he does, I'll get in touch with you on when is a good time to sort out all the details."

Noah handed Nathan a card with his phone number on it, and said, "I'll be waiting to hear from you."

A couple of days later Peter waited until Sylar was in the shower, and then called Nathan.

Nathan had been sitting in on a luncheon when the call came through. He excused himself from the table and walked towards the front entrance as he answered the phone, "Pete?"

"Hey Nathan. Were you able to meet with Noah? Do we have some kind of plan so we can come back?"

Nathan gave Peter the breakdown of what the four had negotiated about at Matt and Mohinder's apartment and waited for Peter to digest it before asking, "So what do you think? Do you want to meet up with Noah and discuss things further? I could keep Sylar safe while you decide the parameters of what's acceptable for your return."

Thinking it over for a few seconds, Peter decided it was the best they were going to get, and hoped that Sylar wouldn't be upset about it. "I can't say that I'm thrilled, but I can accept it for now. Maybe with some time, the company will back off. I'll tell Sylar the good news, and we'll be home in a few hours. If Noah wants to meet with us, he can do it tonight. I'd like to have you and Matt there for back up, just in case Noah tries something. Can you arrange that for me?"

Nathan responded, "I don't think that'll be a problem; I'll see you tonight then." Nathan hung up and went back to his luncheon. After his business was taken care of, he called Matt to have him contact Noah to let him know what he and Peter had discussed.

Peter was finished with his phone call by the time Sylar exited the restroom. Sylar looked at the phone curiously as he asked, "Talking to Nathan?"

Nodding Peter said, "Yes. I called him a few days ago and talked to him about making arrangements for us to go home. I didn't tell you about it, because I wasn't sure what kind of reception we'd get from Noah. Basically the company is going to let you stay with me, but we have to let them check up on you once a week, and they will be monitoring all of the exits so they know when we come and go." Giving Sylar a hopeful look Peter added, "What do you say to going home tonight?"

Sylar's eyebrow stitched in worry as he thought over Peter's proposal. He did want to go back to New York; the country was nice, but was getting old real fast. He thought about the stipulations the Company wanted with checkups and his mind returned to the uncomfortable memory of getting jabbed with needles and being held captive as he thought, 'I hope this isn't going to end badly...' He gave Peter a small smile and replied, "Now is as good a time as any I suppose."


	36. Compromising

Answering Sylar's worried thoughts, Peter said, "It won't end badly. I'm not going to let it." He smiled and said, "Now I don't know about you, but I personally can't wait to get back to civilization. Let's see how fast we can pack."

Sylar brightened and got to work packing; it took a good solid two hours to get all of their things together and clean up the cabin, turn off the gas, and all other preparatory chores for leaving the cabin. Somehow even though it hadn't seen like they'd gone to town that often, they had accumulated a lot of new things to carry back home, Sylar looked at the pile in amazement and asked, "I don't think you're going to be able to carry all this stuff and me. Do you want to just leave the bulk of this stuff here at the cabin and just fly back with the necessities tonight?"

Nodding, Peter said, "I think we're going to have to." Peter took one last look around, making sure they hadn't forgotten anything, and then put his overnight bag over his shoulder. He looked at Sylar who was holding a backpack and looked ready to go.

"Okay, let's go." Peter walked out the door, and Sylar followed. After locking the door, Peter picked Sylar up and they shot into the air. An hour later they landed in the alleyway behind Peter's apartment. Peter set Sylar down and as they were walking up to the apartment Peter said, "I'll call Nathan to let him know we're home while you unpack."

Sylar looked around cautiously for any traps. It felt odd to be back in the apartment, it was home for only about a month before the cabin. It was really hard to believe that he and Peter had been together going on three months now. Turning back the clock, it was strange to think they had come so far, but one thing Sylar was, was happy now. For so long he had felt alone and alienated from those around him, but Peter took those feelings away and replaced them with compassion and a willingness to change for nothing more than a positive role model.

It hadn't taken long to unpack the small amount of items in his bag, and once finished he sat on the couch and waited for Peter to finish speaking with Nathan.

Nathan had been anticipating his call and answered eagerly, "Hey Pete! I'm guessing you're at ground zero now? Let me know when you're ready for company, I've got Noah and Matt on standby."

Smiling at Nathan's enthusiasm, Peter said, "You're right, we're home. Give us about half an hour, and then bring them over. It'll be good to see you."

Smiling as well, Nathan responded, "Thirty minutes it is. I'll see you soon Pete." He hung up the phone and contacted Matt who was with Noah at the local diner waiting for his call. He told them he was on his way to the diner, and by the time he got there, they could head to Peter's to have their much needed discussion.

Sylar paced the apartment in anticipation trying to prepare himself for the soon to be encounter. He couldn't stop thinking of the last time he had had a run in with Noah. It was never an easy affair with him, and he assumed it would be no different this time.

Peter saw Sylar's pacing, and put a hand on his shoulder, which stopped him in mid stride. "It's going to be okay. I know you're nervous, and you're not looking forward to it, neither am I, but we'll get through it just fine."

Before Sylar had a chance to respond, there was a knock at their door. Peter answered and saw Matt, Noah, and Nathan on the other side. Peter gave Nathan a quick hug, and shook Matt's hand as they came in the door. Noah came in as well, and soon they were all sitting around the living room. Peter decided to start things off by turning to Noah and saying, "We see that you've installed the cameras outside the doors and windows. I trust there are none hidden in the apartment."

Listening in on Noah's thoughts as he answered, Peter was assured that the 'No.' Noah gave him was an honest one. Peter nodded and said, "How do you see the weekly visits going?"

Noah said, "They'll take about half an hour each time. We'll take a blood sample, check Sylar's growth, and...."

Cutting him off Peter said, "It's Gabriel. Not Sylar."

Noah sat up straighter in his chair, and after a slightly put upon look continued, "We'll check Gabriel's growth, and have an agent speak with the both of you about his week."

Peter looked over at Sylar to see what he had to say, if anything.

Sylar had chosen to sit beside Peter and had not been able to stop fidgeting with the pen that had been previously laid there. He had a frown plastered on his lips trying to hide the fear that silently crept through him. When Peter had looked to him as a signal to speak, he added, "How long do these routine checkups have to go on, and how do we know you're going to keep your word about not betraying us?"

Noah was quick to answer, "Indefinitely, and you don't. You'll just have to take my word for it." Turning his attention to Peter, Noah added, "The same way we're taking your word for it that you can keep him under control."

Getting angry, Peter raised his voice slightly and said, "If this is the way things are going to be, then we don't have a deal. Whoever comes to see us from the company, has to come in here with the understanding... no with the belief that Gabriel is trying to turn his life around. I won't have someone coming in here always expecting the worst from him. Is that something you can do, or should we disappear again?"

Knowing his supervisors wouldn't be happy to have Sylar off their radar again, Noah pursed his lips unhappily before saying, "I'll work with you on getting an agent you can work with, but it won't be someone who will look the other way if Sy... Gabriel gets his powers back or starts trying to hurt people."

Peter thought that sounded fair and nodded before turning to look at Sylar again.

Sylar took several deep breaths willing the aggravation he felt out of his voice before responding, "I know you don't trust me, and honestly, I can't blame you after everything I've done. But, I am trying to become a better person. I'm not saying I should be forgiven; I haven't earned or deserve that. All I am asking from you is that you give me the benefit of the doubt. Can you do that?"

Looking closely at Sylar as he spoke, Noah found himself unwillingly believing Sylar's sincerity. After a short pause to think things through, Noah answered. "I don't know if you even deserve that, but I'll try."

Matt interjected, "For what it's worth, I can tell you're both being honest."

Pleased that things were going as well as they were, and not wanting to let anyone's emotions get the better of them at this point, Peter said, "Good. Let's set up a regular day and time for you guys to come check on Gabriel, and then you guys can let us finish getting settled."

Noah said, "You name it, and I'll make sure someone is here."

After a second to think about what his schedule had been like before taking time off, Peter said, "How about Thursday nights around 6pm."

Noah nodded in agreement. Peter looked to Sylar and said, "Anything else you want to add?"

Sylar thought a moment to make sure there was nothing he wanted to add before Matt and Noah left before shaking his head and responding, "I'm good if you are."

"I'm good too." Peter said as he stood. Everyone took that as their cue to leave, and stood as well. Peter held the door for Noah, and shook Matt's hand as he walked out. As Nathan got to the door, Peter pulled Nathan into a hug and said, "Thanks for everything Nathan. It would have been a lot harder to do this without you."

Nathan hugged Peter back giving him his most charming smile as he responded, "You're my little brother; I can't let you down now can I?"

((From this point on, Jet will no longer be writing on this fic with me as life has become to hectic for her to play :( In her place, a new author, Lil will be coming in to take over her roles (Matt, Peter, (and Noah who we will share at the beggining as she will also be playing Claire in the next chapter ;) So it is a sad day to say goodbye to Jet, but also a happy and exciting day to introduce you guys to Lil! look forward to next chapter, so you can read her fantastic writing skills! :P))


	37. A New Sheriff in Town

It had been two months since Peter and Sylar had come back to the cozy Manhattan flat they called home. The Company was pleased to note that Sylar was still without powers and didn't appear to be at risk of developing any more in the near future. He did however seem to be growing at quite a rate which fascinated the scientists to no end and annoyed Sylar greatly.

In the course of the four months he'd been in Peter's custody, he had grown from around the age of seven to what the doctors predicted to be about nine. A year for every two months. At this rate, Sylar would be back to his normal age within a few years time, and that pleased both he and Peter.

Peter had been bringing Sylar along on his jobs, but it was becoming increasingly difficult for the two to spend so much time in the same vicinity even though they did like each other.

Thankfully Noah had called him the other night to ask his opinion on Claire helping him watch Sylar. It came as a pleasant surprise as Peter didn't want just anyone watching Sylar for obvious reasons, but Claire, Claire he could definitely approve of. She would be coming over at the start of the new week, only two days from now.

The day before...

Noah rubbed his temples fighting back a headache. Claire had been nagging him for the past month about 'pulling her weight' since she had an ability and felt the need to 'protect' the common folk.

He sighed opening his eyes once more to focus on a very irate Claire as he said, "Claire Bear, it's just not safe enough for you to be trying to go after these people by yourself. It's dangerous, and you need to concentrate on going to school. Being invincible isn't going to get you an education!"

Claire rolled her eyes when her dad mentioned school for the umpteenth time, deciding to ignore that bit and instead dove into the part of the fight she knew she could win.

"Not safe enough?!" She paused, looking at her father as though he'd lost his mind in hopes of really driving her point home. "I can't be hurt, and I'm Not going to sit here pretending to be normal while other people get hurt! What's gonna happen to me that hasn't already happened...or almost happened?"

Noah frowned as he leaned against his desk; he happened to glance at his appointment calendar and reading that Sylar was scheduled for another checkup today sent his mind in motion. He looked back at Claire eyebrow raised in concern as he said in all seriousness, "I'm sure I have a job for you if you are comfortable with taking it. I know Peter has talked to you already about having Sylar in his custody. Now, I've noticed the last few visits I've made that the two have been getting a tad prickly around each other. What would you say to giving him a hand after school with keeping an eye on Sylar? Sort of like a prison guard. I'm sure there's no one else in the world Peter would rather have helping him deal with Sylar then someone like you who he can trust. What do you say? Is that dangerous enough?"

Claire stood shocked at what her father was suggesting. She knew Sylar didn't have his powers, and was in the body of a child, but the fact that this job was being offered to her confused her. With the way the conversation had been going before, her father certainly didn't trust her with anything dangerous. So, what did this mean he thought about Sylar?

"Prison guard, huh?" She couldn't hold back the grin at those words, and instead shot Noah a big smile. "I think I can handle that. It'd be nice to see more of Peter anyway; maybe I can stay sometimes for dinner when he gets home." Claire felt her mood change in an instant happy at the thought of helping her uncle and curious to see this _new _Sylar.

Noah let his frown fade realizing Claire was more than willing to take on the challenge of watching Sylar. He responded, "Now this isn't official yet; I still need to confirm with Peter to find out what his opinion is on this whole thing, but I have a good feeling that Peter will be more than happy with a little break."

Seeing that Claire seemed more than thrilled to take the job Noah emphasized, "I want you to know Claire, just because Sylar is in the body of a child doesn't make him one. His mind is still that of an adult which makes him quite dangerous still, so don't let your guard down around him for one second. Are we clear?"

"We're clear," she giggled, giving Noah a hug. _Peter didn't tell me Sylar had his adult mind._ Claire stopped to think that over for a moment. "That had to be a blow to Sylar's big ego...serves him right!"

Claire was certain that Peter would let her watch Sylar, but she was feeling the slightest tinge of doubt after learning that Sylar still had his adult mind. Curious about why her father would let her watch him, she asked, "How many people has he attacked since he ....well, became a kid again?"

Noah's brow furrowed at Claire's question as he answered, "None so far, and as far as Peter is concerned he genuinely wants to change. I would like to believe nothing more, but I think Peter's perception may be clouded by his own ideology hence why I want you to take a step into that role. I know that he attacked you previously, so you are more likely to see through any façade by spending enough time around him. Think of this as a covert spy mission."

Claire thought about what her father wanted. On one hand, she wanted to doom Sylar, to find that he was still evil and to see him locked away for good. On the other - and more strongly - she trusted her uncle, and felt that if Peter saw something worthwhile in Sylar, that she probably would too. The idea of spying on her uncle bothered her, and she wasn't about to fall into the deceitful ways of her father. "If I see that Sylar is still dangerous, you and Peter will be the first ones to know."

Noah gave her a small smile knowing his daughter well. He pushed off the desk coming to her side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders giving her a loving squeeze as he responded, "I have no doubt that you'll be nothing if not fair Claire. Why do you think I suggested it to you?"

Claire hugged back and smiled up at her father, a hint of amusement on her face as she said, "So that I don't find my own trouble to get into." Letting go from the hug and walking to the door, she looked back at her father and smiled again before leaving the room.

A few days later the details of Claire's new job were ironed out, and she was set to start the following Monday. That Monday during her classes, her mind kept wandering to what she'd encounter at her uncle's apartment. Butterflies danced in her stomach while feelings of nervousness and excitement battled inside her. Soon the last bell of the school day rang, and she was off to start her new job. Almost on auto pilot, Claire found herself suddenly standing at the door to her uncle's apartment. Taking a calming breath, she knocked and waited.

Sylar's ears pricked at the sound of Claire knocking. He had been sitting on the couch for the past hour reading, or trying to read. Peter was silently getting ready for work as he had worked out an arrangement to work nights from 4PM to midnight to give the both of them a break from each other. Sylar had thought this was a perfectly fine idea as Peter had started the conversation off as it being an exercise of trust, but his opinion soon changed when he learned that that did not mean him staying by himself but rather having Claire come by to 'babysit' him after school Monday through Thursday while Peter went to work.

The notion of having a teenager babysitting him was absurd to Sylar, and he had let Peter know it in a heated argument that had ended up with him getting sent to bed early with a threat of a spanking if he persisted to argue the fact. It was settled, and the choice to have Claire come by was not open for debate which only miffed Sylar more.

That was Friday following Thursday night after Peter had spoke with Noah and set a schedule up with his work Friday morning. Now it was 3:22PM Monday afternoon.

Peter emerged from the bedroom after the third knock looking down at Sylar with slight agitation as he asked, "I know you heard Claire knocking on the door Gabriel; am I going to need to stay home?"

Sylar didn't look at Peter merely rolling his eyes in annoyance before responding in a low grumble, "No. I just figured you'd want to talk to her first." This of course was a lie as Sylar just didn't want to have to talk to Claire under the circumstance that he was already told that what she said would be what he was expected to do. The thought alone irritated him, and so he had made up his mind that he would just not speak to the girl at all unless it was under his terms. A sad display of control, but it was all he really had.

Peter sighed deeply shaking his head as he treaded across the living room to open the door. He smiled at Claire opening the door wide for her to come in as he apologized, "Sorry, I was in the other room putting my scrubs on, and Gabriel was being too rude to answer the door."

Sylar's eyebrows furrowed in anger as he brought the book up closer to his face to further solidify his disgruntlement.

Claire's smile faded at Peter's revelation. "Oh," she looked over at Sylar sitting on the couch, his little face glaring angrily into his book in a sad attempt to ignore her arrival, "That's ok." She should have expected that Sylar would react this way, but from what Peter had told her of his progress, she had honestly expected a warm greeting and maybe - just maybe - even an apologetic demeanor. Clearly she had been wrong.

Seeing Sylar in his present state at the age of about nine was jarring. Claire couldn't stop looking him over. With as terrifying as he had been as an adult, he did make for an adorable child with his big brown eyes and tiny dimpled hands. The fact that he was pouting while reading such an adult looking book only made him look that much more endearing, and Claire had to remind herself that this was indeed the egotistical serial killer Sylar, and that grinning at him when he was obviously quite cranky would likely not be the best way to be reintroduced.

Wanting to try and get things off to a positive start, she thought that defending him would help him warm up to her, "A lot of people get lost in a good story. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it." She stood just inside the doorway, looking at him in hopes that he'd finally acknowledge her presence so that some of the tension would leave the air.

Sylar's eyes softened feeling bad that he had been acting so abhorrently. It wasn't Claire's fault that she had been sent over, and maybe this could be a lot of fun to have her around. A new person to talk to would be thrilling in itself. He turned his dark chocolate eyes away from his book and let them drift up at her giving her a half smile and a small wave still slightly embarrassed from the way their meeting had started off.

Peter was pleased that the two seemed like they might actually get along, but seeing there might be a potential problem with Sylar's attitude; he wanted to be sure that Claire would know how to handle him if the need arose. He laid a hand on her shoulder looking down imploringly as he said, "Can you follow me for a minute? There are a few things I want to go over with you before I head out."

Before the shock of Sylar's turnaround could fully register, Claire couldn't help from smiling back at the little guy, giving both a small giggle and a little wave of her own. He looked truly embarrassed with himself, and she couldn't help but feel a small tug on her heart as she realized how hard it was to stay mad at someone in a child's body.

She followed Peter's lead, following him into another room when prompted, still thinking about how strange the situation was and amazed at the seemingly 180 Sylar's personality seemed to have taken under Peter's stead. Brought back to reality when Peter abruptly stopped and turned to face her in a room not within Sylar's earshot, Claire finally responded to Peter's question, "What's up?"

Peter's eyes shot back to the door to see Sylar looking curiously in their direction. Once he saw Peter looking back at him, he turned his attention back to his book irritated that he was obviously being discussed while purposely being left out of the conversation. Peter sighed using his telekinesis to shut the door. He took a seat on his bed and patted the bed beside him.

Claire followed suit sitting next to him, and when she had turned her attention fully on to Peter, he began in earnest, "I know that this whole situation is a bit odd, and I also know that you might face some interesting complications dealing with Gabriel. I'll have my cell phone on me at all times, but if for some reason you can't reach me if something happens, Nathan should be the next one you call, and if you can't reach him, Matt's number is on the side of the fridge, and if all else fails, you can call your father. I trust you whole heartedly, and I don't think you should have any problems that you can't handle, but I know Gabriel can be a little pushy and will test your limits to see what he can get away with. He's already been told that you are in charge, and what you say goes. That means that if he gives you a hard time, you can send him to bed early, put him in a time out, and if he's particularly unruly, you have my permission to spank him. Also, his bed time is 10PM; don't let him tell you any different. Other than that, there are groceries in the fridge and cabinets, and if you don't feel like cooking dinner, there's a twenty on the counter that you can order pizza with. Do you have any questions for me before I head out?"

"Wait ...I have your permission to...to spank him?" Claire asked quietly with an embarrassed grin, when Peter only nodded she blurted "...Peter, he's not really a child! He's Older than ME – by a lot! I don't know if this is right. Is this what you've been doing with him?!" In the pause before Peter responded, Claire had to admit to herself that whatever Peter had been doing did indeed seem to be working for the best, and that all of the punishments he had mentioned were much better than what her father and The Company would do. They were a child's punishments, learning punishments, and Claire mused for a moment that Sylar had probably already earned himself a lifetime of spankings. But no, she would be fair, especially when she remembered his big sad eyes and shame filled grin just moments before. She already felt hope there, probably the same hope that Peter felt. Realizing that Peter was simply watching her instead of replying, she asked again, "Is it?"

Peter gave her a smirk answering, "Is it really that hard to believe? I had to rein him in somehow, and to be honest, the first time it happened was more of an accident than it was planned. But that doesn't really matter, what does matter is that it works for him. Gabriel needed guidance and to know that someone could care about him enough to not let him continue down the path he had made for himself. Now I don't want you to think you have to spank him, and I really hope alternative measures can be used, but if it does come down to it then I don't want you to feel like you have to put up with bad behavior."

"Alright, I can see how all of this could work, and it is about what works for him. It's just...strange is all, but I can handle it. Too bad we didn't think of it before he'd gotten all powerful," she smirked back at her uncle before sighing, "Well, hopefully it won't come to that. I should call him Gabriel, shouldn't I? That's what you call him. Dad still calls him Sylar at home."

Peter frowned as he said, "Your dad still doesn't want to believe Gabriel isn't Sylar anymore. But to answer your question, yes, please call him Gabriel. He doesn't need to be reminded of his past mistakes. We have worked really hard to move past that. If he brings it up to you, feel free to talk about it, but otherwise try not to reference how he was before okay?"

"Dad always sees the worst in people; I'm not sure if it's his job at the Company or if he's just that way. It's sad. Don't worry, I won't bring up Gabriel's past to him, and I'll try really hard to remember to call him Gabriel instead of Sylar. It shouldn't be too hard since he looks so different now."

Peter put his hand over Claire's giving it a gentle squeeze as he responded, "I trust you will look past everything he's done in his past to give him a clean start with you. If I didn't think you could, I wouldn't have accepted your dad's offer." Peter glance at the clock, and it read 3:41PM. He let out a sigh, "I have to get going; are you sure you're going to be alright?"

Claire gave him a goofy smile and took a deep breath, "I'll be fine. You don't need to worry Peter, Gabriel and I might even have some fun while you're gone."

Peter laughed, "I'm sure you will." He leaned over and gave her a hug before continuing, "Alright then, I guess I'll get heading over to Mrs. Lander's house." He rose from the bed and opened the door.

Sylar immediately covered his face with his book. He had heard the laughter coming from the bedroom, and it prickled a new wave of agitation through him as his bad mood was replaced once more.

Peter mussed his hair on the way out as he said jokingly, "Try not to cause Claire to much grief tonight okay?"

Sylar merely growled out a, "Hrmm."

Peter lifted an eyebrow at Claire before turning to leave remarking on his way out, "He's all yours Claire."

Claire, already noting the growl from the obviously still temperamental Sylar, raised her eyebrows and huffed at Peter in response, thinking 'gee, thanks – that's a great way to get us started, Peter.'


	38. Pushed to the Limit

Picking up her book bag and walking over to the couch, Claire plopped herself down next to Sylar, hoping she could ease him back into a friendlier mood with some quiet time. Currently, he was furrowing his brows and scooting away from her ever so slightly. "I have some homework to do, are you all set reading for awhile? Want a snack or something? I brought some board games for later, if you want."

Claire kept her eyes on what she was doing, trying to give Sylar some time to adjust to her being there, finally pulling out her chemistry book and notebook. Finding the correct page in each, she kicked off her shoes, grabbed a pen from the front pocket of her bag and settled in to work.

Sylar still mad about the private pow-wow between Claire and Peter and being made even more mad by the comment Claire had made slapped his book shut and tossed it onto the coffee table before turning his glare onto Claire and growled, "Listen, I don't know what Peter told you in there, but I think it's a little rude that you two didn't include me. And while we're putting things on the table, let's get one thing straight, I'm not going to play board games, and I don't eat 'snacks' like some little kid okay? Just because I'm in a child's body doesn't mean that I am one!"

Feeling suitably happy with his venting, he hopped off the couch grabbing his book on the way and went into the bedroom Peter and he shared slamming the door behind him and crawling up on top of his bed to read his book in private.

Claire sat gaping at Sylar during his tirade, completely taken by surprise, and only snapped to when he slammed the door shut. As she sat, looking at the door, she mentally went over everything that had happened since her arrival. Sure, she could see where Sylar could be irritated when Peter pulled her aside for a talk – but he really should have expected that to happen, considering the circumstances. She honestly had no idea that she had been anything but polite and friendly with what she'd said. Even her dad still liked to play board games, and who didn't like snacks? As far as she could see, there was absolutely no reason for him to be that angry, and even if there was, it was still no excuse for such behavior!

Feeling her anger already brimming not even a full five minutes since Peter left, Claire took a few deep breaths to calm herself before dealing with Sylar. Once suitably calm, she walked to the door and paused, unsure whether to knock, but after a moment she simply walked in the room.

"Gabriel, we need to talk. I know this sucks. I really was trying to make it easy and fun for the both of us, and I'm sorry if we don't like the same things, but you gotta know that acting the way you just did is not ok. Not at all. There's no excuse. Next time just talk to me. Now, unless you have anything you want to say about things in a nice way, you need to put that book down and come with me, I'm giving you a ten minute time out. After that, if you want to read in here, you can – but it'd be nicer if you read out on the couch with me." Claire began to turn towards the door, keeping an eye on Sylar to make sure he'd do what she said.

Sylar's face turned from a scowl when she'd appeared in the doorway to gaping open in surprise at her words, "What? Are you serious?" stumbled out of his mouth.

Claire jerked back to face him fully, her mouth pressed thin in irritation as she tried to remind herself how strange this situation must be for him. "Yes, Gabriel, I am. Now c'mon."

Sylar was taken aback by Claire's demand. It was one thing for Peter to treat him like this, but some sixteen year old? Oh hell no! His eyes crackled with rage piercing hers as he spat, "I don't think so. I didn't do anything wrong by simply coming in here to read my book by myself! This isn't working out, you just need to call Peter and tell him to come back because there's no way some teenager is going to put me in a time out!"

Claire couldn't believe the audacity – 'simply coming in here to read my book', who is he trying to kid? If he couldn't see what he did wrong, she was sure going to tell him. "You didn't simply come in here, now did you? No. You blew up in my face, stomped in here and slammed the door. You want me to call Peter? Tell him what you're doing, make him miss work and leave poor Mrs. Landers without her care? Not gonna happen. I'm not doin' that to him. You keep making a point of the fact that you're an adult. Act like one, face consequences. Now get moving."

Sylar thought about what Claire had said, he really didn't want Peter to have to leave Mrs. Landers, and having him come home under such circumstances could work out to be a lot worse for him than simply dealing with Claire. He still didn't want to be put in a time out though, so he back pedaled, "Okay, maybe I shouldn't have slammed the door on my way in here. But you have to admit, you can't blame me for being mad about how you two came in here to talk about me, and then you condescending me with the snacks and board games comment, I just lost it. So, I'm sorry I over reacted. Let's just call it quid per quo and start over. Sound good?"

Claire almost – just almost – grinned at the look on Sylar's face when he realized what he'd demanded, especially since she knew what Peter would likely do to him if she did have to call him back home. Sylar's big brown eyes almost bugged right out of his little face and his mouth gaped open. It was adorable, and she felt some of the tension leave the air. It was good that at least he was admitting some of his misdeeds and apologizing, but if he thought he was getting off scot-free, he had another thing coming!

"I wasn't being condescending. ...I'm not here to be mean to you," Claire sat next to him on the bed and gave him a smile like she was letting him in on a secret, "Board games are fun, and who wouldn't want a snack now and then?" Then fixing him with a sincere look, "I can see how Peter and I talking in here could irritate you, but you should have known he'd need to go over a few things with me – it IS my first day. I'm sorry it hurt you, but you should have talked to me instead of blowing up. I appreciate the apology, but you're still getting a time out. C'mon, no more fighting me, ok?"

Sylar frowned still quite disagreeable with the idea of the suggested punishment responding, "I apologized, why can't that be enough for you? Do you just want to humiliate me because of all the bad things I did? I'll come out there with you, but I'm NOT going into a time out! Are we clear?"

Claire took a deep breath, torn between really getting fed up with Sylar's attitude and sadness that he'd think she was trying to humiliate him. "If I wanted to humiliate you, I'd pick a much less irritating way to do it! Why would I even try to make you feel better if that was what I was doing? You're trying to make me feel bad and control the situation, and I don't like that. Now, I'm thankful and proud of you for your apology, but you Are going in that time out, and you're doing it now. I don't want to hear another word about it, do you understand me? I've had enough."

Sylar had hoped Claire would give up her pursuit if he persisted long enough as he spat, "You've had enough? Well that makes two of us! You're not going to boss me around just because you 'think' you're in charge here. As far as I'm concerned you can take a flying leap if you think I'm going to willingly 'take a time out' because you got your feelings hurt!"

Claire licked her lips and sighed, she really wished it hadn't come to this but there was just no reigning him in. "Gabriel, I gave you every chance to avoid this. You wouldn't listen."

She grabbed Sylar by his elbow and tugged him over her lap. Never having been spanked, or given someone else a spanking, she was a little unsure of herself. The thought of pulling down a man's pants was embarrassing, even if he was in a kid's body, and she decided to first see if she could make enough of an impact leaving them up.

"You need to accept the fact that I am in charge," she said as she landed the first swat to the curve of his bottom, "and that I'm not going to put up with you acting like this," she landed five more swats to the same area before moving on.

Sylar was utterly shocked that Claire would have the audacity to pull him over her knee. This new revelation was quickly solidified by a stinging swat as her words sunk in. He squalled out in both astonishment and anger, "Wha..? No! Claire! This isn't funny! Let me go!" He then bucked in furious abandon to get off her lap.

"I'm not laughing! I told you I'd had enough, now you be still!" She scolded, holding him tighter as she spanked harder, leaning her weight onto his back to keep him in place.

Sylar gasped at the strength behind her swats and already having been down this road with Peter, he definitely didn't want it to continue with Claire as he yelled, "Okay! I got your point! I'm sorry alright! I'll do your stupid time out if it'll make you happy!"

"That's right you will!" Claire ground out, not slowing the spanking in the least. "You're also gonna watch that mouth. You've been so rude since I got here. I was so looking forward to getting to know you, too. I can't believe I have to do this! You should be ashamed, imagine if Peter saw you acting this way!"

Sylar cringed at the thought of Peter seeing him acting in such a manner, and he was sure he would be getting about the same results. He had just assumed that Claire wouldn't go to such extremes. He was sorely mistaken! After his squirming had no effect of getting his ass out of the target range of her rapid fire palm, he hoped for pity as he pouted and whined out, "You're hurting me Claire! Please just stop!"

After all the games Sylar had played in the short time she'd been there, Claire wasn't about to fall for this one – no matter how pathetic and adorable he looked – and even though it did take the edge off her anger, she kept her hand falling just as hard as before. "I don't want to hurt you, Gabriel, and I don't like doing this, but this is what happens when you won't listen. I gave you plenty of chances. You know you were out of control."

Seeing this new tactic wasn't working and those swats Claire was raining down were really starting to hurt he let out a scream of frustration, "Arhh!! Let me go! You… you can't do this to me! I'm like almost twice your age! Damn it!"

"I know how old you are! I also know you need this; you're acting like a child! Don't you think this makes me feel weird, too?! ...And I thought I told you to watch your mouth!" Her anger coming back tenfold, Claire stopped for a moment, pulling down his pants one handed as she said, "This obviously isn't getting through to you enough with these up." Readjusting herself, she resumed spanking his already pink butt, focusing on his sit spots when she noticed it got the biggest reaction out of him.

The color drained out of Sylar's face at feeling his pants pulled down, and he immediately screamed out, "No!" as he reached back desperate to regain some form of dignity by covering his bared flesh. He couldn't reach them and instead opted to shield his ass from Claire's onslaught twisting his back so that he could turn his dark chocolate eyes on to her as he whined out, "Okay! Okay! Enough! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I'll be good now! I promise!"

Impeded by Sylar blocking her spanks with his hand, Claire grabbed his wrist and held it in the small of his back, looking him in the eye she said, "Good, then the rest of the day should go much better after we're done here." Then she continued the spanking, still focusing mostly on his sit spots, but moving all around his butt and even working the tops of his thighs.

Realizing that he would be going nowhere anytime soon and having his only means of delaying the punishment any longer taken away, Sylar turned away gritting his teeth to ignore the pain as best he could. He did his best to contain any telltale signs that she was hurting him by only letting out small grunts at Claire's heavy hand. This of course was only momentary, and Sylar knew this as a sense of hopelessness overtook him and his eyes glazed over the tears beginning to swell and finally silently spill down his cheeks. He prayed Claire would finish soon before he was unable to hold back the sob caught in his throat. It was bad enough that she was doing this to him; it was ten times worse if she knew it was making him cry.

After all of the trouble she'd already had with Sylar, Claire wanted to hear him confirm aloud that he understood that no one was out to upset him and that he accepted that she was in charge, figuring it'd keep any more problems from arising if he said it himself. After a few moments of solid spanking, she slowed her pace a bit and asked "Now Gabriel, do you understand that Peter taking me in here to talk wasn't meant to hurt you? That it was just a normal, first day run down sort of a thing?"

Sylar's voice broke as he responded, "Ye…yes! I understand!" With this admission he let go of the sob he'd been holding back unable to keep it locked inside any longer.

Claire's heart almost broke in half, but she knew she had to keep going, even though her anger was completely gone at this point. "And you understand that I wasn't being condescending?" she asked, her hand still landing hard spanks.

Sylar cried freely now as he whined, "Claire please! No more! No more! I know I was wrong! I just… I just couldn't stand the fact that everyone has authority over me now. And… and you coming here to…to babysit me was the icing on that cake!"

Claire slowed down her spanks considerably, "I can understand that. I know it's gotta be hard on you, but I need to know that you do accept that I'm in charge. We're only trying to do what's best for you, and I promise you that I'll never abuse being in charge of you, ok?"

Sylar lowered his head as he sobbed, "Yes! Ow! Ow! I… I accept that you're in charge! And…and I know you will be fair! Please stop! I'm really sorry!"

Claire stopped immediately, relieved, letting his wrist go as she began rubbing his back as he cried. "Oooh good. Ok. It's ok now, it's all over." After a moment, Claire pulled up his pants for him – trying her best to ease them gently over his red bottom - and then pulled him into her arms like she couldn't get him there fast enough as she kissed the top of his head and snuggled him tightly to her.

Sylar continued to cry out of embarrassment more than pain, but he didn't pull away from Claire feeling comfortable in her arms surrounded by the apples and cinnamon scent she gave off. The kiss on top of his head made more tears trickle down his face, and after another moment in her embrace, he sat up and wiped away the streaked tears that had began to dry with the back of his sleeve. He looked down into his lap as he stated in almost a whisper, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you; I shouldn't have let myself act in such a manner."

Claire gave him a sad smile as she rubbed circles on his back. "Thank you, Gabriel, I appreciate that. Everything's going to be ok, alright? If you're ok now, we should go get that time out over with. Or we can sit here for a few more minutes first if you need it."

Sylar frowned at the fact that he'd still be getting a time out after the spanking, but not wanting to argue anymore he instead sighed heavily and responded, "No, I'm fine now. We might as well get it over with…" he then turned his red rimmed eyes back up at her as he asked with slight worry covering his face, "You're not going to tell Peter about this are you?"

Claire was relieved to hear that he was finally agreeable, sighing and patting his back without really even being conscious of doing so. She hadn't thought about whether to tell Peter or not, her thinking hadn't gotten that far, but she really didn't see any reason to bring it up to him herself. Sylar had been punished and he was listening to her now, what would be the point? "If he asks me directly I can't lie. But otherwise I don't see why I need to – unless this becomes a habit, you know?" Patting his back to signal that it was time for him to get down, she said, "Alright, let's go. I'm guessing the chair in the kitchen facing the corner is where you do your timeouts then?"

Sylar groaned and nodded yes as he slid off her lap. He was getting slightly pensive at the thought of Peter's reaction to Claire feeling the need to spank him. He had a good feeling Peter would definitely ask how their day had gone being it was the first, and that might mean another spanking to come for him. He walked wordlessly with Claire as she pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and placed it in the corner. Sylar climbed up into the chair shoulders slouched as his stomach tightened when his already sore bottom made contact with the chair's hard surface and the thought of Peter coming home later and finding out what happened swirled in his mind. This was turning out to be quite a bad start to his day.


	39. Kiss and Make Up

"Ok, I'm gonna set the timer for ten minutes," Claire said, fumbling with the complicated microwave button pad until the countdown began, "...there. Now, like I said, when this goes off you can come in and read on the couch or go back in your room to read until I finish my homework – which shouldn't take long." Claire looked Sylar over once more before walking back to the couch. She didn't like seeing his little face clouded with worry, and was concerned what that meant Peter would do if he found out she had to spank him. Sighing, trying to get her mind back on her homework, she picked up her book and began reading. Easily excelling at her studies, she had her chemistry homework finished in five minutes flat, and fished out her history book, hoping to finish up that subject before the timer went off.

Sylar sat lost in thought glad that Claire was being kind enough to only sentence him to ten minutes as the hard chair was quite uncomfortable to bear for an extended amount of time. He was quite shocked that such a petite girl could dish out a whipping like she had. It was almost as horrible as Peter's! He thought that she may have even been holding back a little, and made a resolve not to test her ire and find out whether that assumption was true or not.

He stared at the shadows in the cracks of the wall as the time passed excruciatingly slowly. Finally the timer went off, and he hoped out of the chair carrying it back to its original resting place getting rid of any evidence that he was put in timeout before looking over at Claire unsure if he'd rather go pout in his bedroom or sit on the couch with her.

History was a favorite subject of Claire's, just behind sciences. Her only homework for the subject was to read and be ready to discuss the sub chapter on the emergence of the American identity, focusing on self government in the colonies and the hardships along the way. Her mind wandered to how that tied in with 'her kind' and The Company, and before she knew it the timer had sounded. Trying to focus back on her reading as she heard Sylar struggle to put the chair back, she was curious to where he would choose to read, if that's even what he wanted to do anymore. She kept rereading the same sentence repeatedly without retaining it, trying not to look fussy or concerned about what he'd choose to do – and the more she thought about it, she decided she had tried very hard to make nice and he didn't respond well at all. She'd just see if he came to her, figuring that it'd be a good first test at just how reformed he really was.

Sylar looked from Claire back to his bed in the other room and sighed. He knew if he went in to his bedroom that he wouldn't come back out and would ultimately just end up stewing over what 'could be' to come when Peter came back home. Claire had tried to be nice to him, and all he had done was treat her like crap. He could tell that she was curious what he would do next, and so he padded over to the couch to sit next to her. He glanced over at her book musing out loud, "History eh? I always loved reading about the past. They say without a written record that we would be doomed to forever repeat all our previous mistakes. I don't know if that's true or not, but I suppose the past can teach us a lot about ourselves and what our future can hold."

When Claire heard Sylar coming her way, she had to try hard to contain her emotions and just play it cool. She was happy that he was trying, and that she had apparently made a good impact on him, but was also curious what he'd actually be like if he were finally in a good mood – which she hoped he was – would he be likable? What a strange thought! It was all pretty exciting, and despite her best efforts her smile forced its way out during his comment as she jumped at the chance to discuss a love of history with someone other than her father for once.

"Oh I love history too. We're covering American history, learning about our legacy, you know? I definitely think we can prevent repeating mistakes by learning history, but its more than that - seeing how far we've come, the good and evil we're capable of, how positive surroundings seem to spur positive growth – especially in the arts and sciences, the way things are cyclical...I love it." Claire stopped, lost in her own thoughts with a slight smile of wonderment on her face.

Sylar couldn't help smiling as well, Claire's happiness was contagious. He responded, "It's quite amazing how far we've come just in the past fifty years with the technology we've developed… it makes you wonder where we all fit in to the big scheme of things…" Sylar trailed off as he thought about the ramifications of his own words and the life he was living now. Where did he fit in all of this? What about Claire? Peter? All of the quote, unquote special people? Were they just erased out of history or were they always around?

Claire was happy that Sylar jumped into conversation, and noticing his sudden decline within himself, tried to keep him engaged. "Well, to bring in my favorite subject, science teaches us that we do all fit, there is an order, we just sometimes need to adapt to a changing environment. There is no big scheme without each of us in it. It's like baking, leave out an ingredient and boy it just isn't right!" Claire laughed, wondering what baking with Sylar would be like. She decided she'd have to check the cupboards for baking ingredients.

Sylar turned back to Claire giving a small chuckle, "I guess there's no arguing that. You know, once you finish your school work, maybe you'd want to play one of those board games you brought? It's been a really long time, and I never played them much being an only child, but I think it might be fun with you."

Claire positively beamed, this was going much better than she expected. Sylar, playing board games willingly? That had to be a change for the better in her mind. "Oh fun! I just have two more pages of this to read. I brought Battleship, Life and Clue. Here, lemme pull them out and you can decide what you wanna play while I finish up," she said as she leaned forward and pulled out the three tattered boxes from her bag. Handing them to Sylar with a grin, she went back to her reading, excited to finish up her homework.

Sylar looked them over deciding on Battleship and went to work setting the board up while Clair finished her homework. He had finished before her and went into the kitchen to grab an apple juice out of the fridge as he yelled out, "You thirsty Claire? We've got apple juice, orange juice, milk, and punch."

Claire was just shutting her book when Sylar called out to her. "Apple juice please!" Putting her book away, Claire stood and stretched before joining Sylar. "Battleship, my favorite! Thanks for the juice," Claire said as she sat down to play.

Within moments the two were engaged in setting up their battleships and ready to start. Sylar asked, "So who goes first?"

"You can go first if you want," Claire answered, sipping on her juice. "Let's play the official version, one try per turn. Do you get how to play?

Sylar gave her a sarcastic eye roll before smirking at her and responding, "It's not a very complicated game; I think I got the gist from looking at the board. But ladies first," he held out a hand gesturing for Claire to take her turn.

Claire laughed and made a face at Sylar before rubbing her hands together, looking at the game board deciding where to strike. "I'll saaaaay.....F7," she said with her eyebrows raised in happy anticipation.

The game continued on the first couple moves made in silence other than marking out hits on each other's boards before Sylar's stomach growled and he asked, "After we finish our game, what were you thinking for dinner?"

Claire blinked happily, having just about sunk Sylar's battleship. "Well, Peter left a twenty for pizza, or," Claire got up and quickly went through the cabinets and fridge, "hmmm, I could use this salad mix and cook some of this chicken to go over it. How about this, your stomach is already growling. I'll order pizza now, and it should be here by the time we finish our game, and we'll have the chicken and salad tomorrow. Sound good?"

Sylar's smile widened as he nodded his agreement, "That sounds great. Then maybe after dinner you'll want to go to Central Park or something? Or do you want to just hang out here and watch a movie?" Things were going considerably smoother now, and Sylar wished that he hadn't been such a jerk earlier to Claire. He had half expected her to despise him after everything he had put her and her family through. Thankfully Claire wasn't her father. He frowned thinking of the man before turning his attention back to his battleship board.

Even though things were going well now, Claire didn't yet like the idea of taking Sylar out and about, and while she didn't see him trying to escape or hurt anyone, she was already able to picture what a tantrum in Central Park would be like. No, keeping things calm and simple at first would be best. "I was thinking we could bake cookies. The only thing Peter doesn't have are chocolate chips, but he does have M&M's. I know the recipe. It'll be fun."

Sylar glanced back up at her as he agreed, "Yeah; that sounds pretty good. Maybe tomorrow then…" He watched her as she called and ordered the pizza before rejoining him at the table. He smiled at her return as he said, "G4."

The rest of the game went well, the pizza arrived, and they cleared the table off to eat.

"Ok, so you like Central Park, reading and maybe even Battleship. What else do you like?" Claire said as she folded over a slice of pizza and took a bite.

Sylar smirked holding up his slice and answered, "Pizza." He chuckled to himself taking a bite before continuing, "I used to like to fix things, but I'm not good at it like I used to be." He shrugged, "That was my original power… knowing how things work. It's still intriguing to me I guess. What about you?"

Claire was enjoying this new side of Sylar. "Well, I like pizza too," she said, holding up her own slice and laughing. "..and I like going to movies, learning, reading, shopping, football, tennis, hiking, board games...baking," she said as she counted them off on her fingers. "I was more looking for things we had in common. Do you still wanna fix things and know how they work, or are you gonna try a bit of everything? I mean, it could be exciting in a way, self discovery. Everything's open to you."

Sylar smiled shyly, "I suppose so. It is weird… this whole growing up all over again. Sometimes it's fun to feel so energetic, but then there are the bad parts like not getting taken seriously and… well, I don't have to get into the rest, but it has really opened my eyes. I'm glad I'm at least growing at a faster rate than the first time around!" He gave a small derisive laugh at his own expense.

Claire felt a little uncomfortable, and had only meant to see what else they had in common, but she couldn't just not acknowledge what he'd said, that wouldn't be right, and now it seemed they were delving right into the subject that Peter had warned her about. Not knowing what to say, she sat quietly for a moment, trying to put herself in his shoes and to see things through his eyes.

"I bet! Well, at least it sounds balanced – good and bad. But, yea, weird. ...and I can imagine really frustrating. I'm glad you're with Peter, he really cares about you. Do you get sore growing so fast?"

Sylar's eyes traveled down to his slice of pizza as he picked a pepperoni off plucking it into his mouth chewing slowly as he mulled her words over. He swallowed responding, "I know Peter cares about me; that's a little weird after the monster that I had become, I don't know how he was able to look past that and try to help me become a better person. But he did, so I guess I'm lucky. As for the growing, it hurts sometimes, but mostly it's just a dull ache that just wears me out more than hurts." He thought about Claire's ability before asking, "What about you? Healing like you do, what does pain feel like? I imagine it never lasts long enough to really leave an impression."

Claire slid another slice of pizza onto her plate, watching the wheels turn in his head as he thought and spoke before responding. "Peter's just that way. He always has hope, which is one of the reasons he's my hero." Claire smirked, a little unsure, "I know you don't wanna hear this, but you being in the body of a cute little boy does make giving you a chance a lot easier. For me, at least, even though I know it is you, it does make it easier to see this face for now instead of the one I knew. It's probably the same with Peter, but knowing him, he'd of given you a chance anyway if he saw even a glimmer of hope." Pausing to take a bite of pizza, she continued, "To answer your question, I feel pain like everyone else. Sometimes it leaves a big impression, even though it doesn't last long. Does Peter know you're always in pain? Maybe he can give you something for that. You shouldn't have to walk around aching all the time, poor thing." Claire clicked her tongue and huffed, wishing she knew what medicines and what dosages would be safe for him to take.

Sylar noticeably blushed at Claire's fawning over him, and it really did feel good to know that she wanted to see him change as much as Peter and himself. He replied, "I'm not in pain all the time; it really only happens every few days, and even then, it's not too bad."

Looking at her brought back a lot of memories of who he was, and what he had done. He thought about his past often, but over the past couple months he'd let a lot of those thoughts fade into the recesses of his mind, so he didn't have to dwell on them. Claire had brought a lot of those memories flooding back, and with them a tremendous guilt followed. He had terrorized this poor girl, and now, here she was trying to be his friend. He smiled warmly at her as he said, "You know Claire; you are one of a kind. Thanks for being … well, you I guess."

It was Claire's turn to blush, as she smiled at him and sighed happily. "Thanks Gabriel. I, mmm...I'm still going to let Peter know about the pain," she verbally stumbled out, trying to blink back her sudden shyness from the shock of his kind words. Though she was quickly getting used to this new Sylar, it was still mind blowing to witness. Seeing him blush adorably a moment earlier, along with what he had just said, easily helped endear him to her. This was not the person she'd grown to fear, and she could tell it wasn't an act. She wasn't sure what to make of it all, but she knew that she liked it. "After you finish up that slice, wanna make some cookies?"

Sylar veritably beamed at her a crooked smile growing on his face as he responded, "I'm always down for cookies!"

"Well alright then!" Claire jumped up, taking her plate with her to the sink before pulling out the needed ingredients onto the counter and turning the oven on. "You wanna measure things out?"

Sylar followed closely behind Claire watching her locate all the needed supplies before turning to grab the step stool beside the fridge and unfolding it to place it next to the sink. He nodded yes to Claire and climbed up on the stool bringing himself waist level with the counter ready to help in the prep work.

Claire set the bowls and measuring cups in front of Sylar. "Ok, so in the small bowl we'll mix two and a half cups of flour and a teaspoon each of salt and baking soda. Here, let me hand you the flour," noticing some flour spilled from the bag as she set it in from of him, Claire playfully tossed some at Sylar while giggling.

Sylar's eyelashes fluttered as the flour lightly coated the side of his face. He laughed back saying, "Hey! Cut it out!" He of course returned a small handful in her direction to even the score.

Claire ducked, but was still covered from head to hip with small spatters of flour that only drew more giggles from her. "Ok ok, let's be serious now and do the dry mix," she said with a mock serious tone, trying not to laugh as somehow the act of baking with Sylar the serial killer-turned child-turned possible friend had her completely slap happy in seconds flat.

Sylar put on a mock serious face slapping his hands together and rubbing them furiously sending the left over flour up into a billowing cloud around him as he stated, "Yes! There is serious work afoot here! Let us commence, doctor, cup of flour please!"

"Flour," Claire handed over a measured cup of flour, trying to keep the grin off of her face while trying to play a serious doctor. "Wait, you're supposed to be measuring things out!" She laughed and threw more flour at him.

Sylar grinned goofily, "How can I play doctor if I'm not at the heart of the operation?" He pinched another bit of flour off the counter and tossed it at Claire.

"A baking operation, huh? Do you think the patient will survive?" Claire asked as she raised her eyebrows, trying to keep her face straight while purposely ignoring the flour that had just landed on her nose.

Sylar rolled his eyes having fun in the moment as he responded, "Well, if we get half as much flour in the bowl as we are around it and on each other, I would say the prognosis is a good chance."

"Flour everywhere means great cookies!" Claire said a matter-of-factly, patting Sylar on the back, making sure to leave a flour handprint. "Trust me," she said as she then handed Sylar the salt and the baking soda.

Sylar chuckled, "Yeah, great until we have to clean up a big mess!" The two added the rest of ingredients and put the cookies in to bake before starting the less fun part of cleaning up their mess. Sylar smiled at Claire as he noted the patches of flour in her hair and on her face and seeing his own clothes were covered in the same. He remarked jokingly, "Peter would kill us if he knew we trashed the house like this"

Claire rolled her eyes and laughed, "Only if we didn't clean it up!" By the time they were finished cleaning their mess the timer beeped and Claire transferred the cookies onto a cooling shelf before putting more in the oven. Smiling at the cooling cookies, Claire fixed Sylar with an intent look, "Milk and hot cookies.....and maybe some tv before bed?"

Sylar looked up at the clock and frowned thinking he hated the whole bed time thing but didn't mention anything about it as he looked over at the TV and nodded his approval.

Claire huffed a bit to herself, seeing the look that washed over Sylar's face. 'Don't tell me bedtime is gonna be another fight,' she thought as she filled a plate with cookies and poured two glasses of milk. Smiling at him, trying not to show her worries, she raised her eyebrows at him, "Come get your milk! Let's go see what's on tv! Anything particular you like?"

Sylar took his milk and padded into the living room to set his milk on the coffee table. Claire followed shortly behind him and sat beside him. He thought about her question and seeing it was Monday voiced, "I could watch some Discovery Channel if you are up for it to?"

Claire smiled at him, "Discovery Channel it is." Flicking on the television, she saw that there was a special about engineering nightmares for the upkeep and function of Las Vegas, and how it all worked. While she wasn't particularly interested in the minute details already spewing out of the television, she figured watching Sylar enjoy it might be fun. "This looks like your kind of show!"

Sylar smiled back at Claire as he grabbed a cookie from the platter and leaned back to enjoy the programming with her. They watched the program until its ending and had devoured the plate of cookies and two glasses of milk. A special on WW2 was set to play as Sylar glanced at the clock noting it was 10PM. He decided to go to bed before he was 'told' rising off the couch with a stretch. He yawned and stated, "I'm going to head to bed Claire; it's been fun…" He thought back to the beginning of the night and a spark of worry coursed through him as he thought about his earlier behavior and the end result of that behavior as he added with a nervous smile, "Well except for that first bit… but we can keep that between us right? I mean, no need to tell Peter that since we ironed things out between the both of us… right?"

Claire was surprised when Sylar suddenly jumped from the couch, rousing a bit from her own drowsiness as she stretched, smiling at his announcement that he was off to bed, mumbling a "'night" to him as she tried to wake up. She was surprised again by his questions, and the worry in his voice, as the earlier events had slipped her mind once she had snuggled into the couch. She sat up to look at him, rubbing some sleep from her eye, seeing for all intents and purposes a scared child in that moment in her groggy state. "I wouldn't worry about that. I'm not going to mention it, and unless he asks me straight out, there's no reason to tell him. You've been fine since." She got up, giving him a one-armed hug before rubbing his back a few times to try and calm his nerves. "You go get some rest, I'll clean this up," she said as she picked up the empty dishes and started for the kitchen, yawning again.

Sylar visibly relaxed into the hug and her reassuring words. Her soft skin and feminine scent wafted across his senses, and he was glad to have had this chance to reconcile with Claire. He hugged her back gently before backing away with a shy smile, "Thanks. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"You got it," Claire smiled at him, happy she could calm his nerves. Taking the dishes into the kitchen, she quickly had the mess cleaned up and boxed up the rest of the cookies before sinking back into the couch in front of the television. Flipping to HGTV, she settled in and soon let her mind wander to the events of her first day with Sylar.

The strangeness of the day had taken its toll on her in the form of exhaustion, both from their unpleasant first half hour and in the joy of the rest of the day. Knowing very well that he was indeed an adult in his mind, she still couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pride for him swell up in her chest when she thought of all the changes for the better he was making. Yes, it did take something drastic to bring these changes about, but it was obvious he jumped in with both feet and really did want to change. ...and he was fun, imagine that?! She had had a great time, and was eagerly looking forward to the time she'd have with him tomorrow. Claire knew she should be hateful and spiteful for him, that it'd be completely understandable, but those feelings – if they had even really been there in the first place – fell away when she looked into that embarrassed little face upon her arrival. Her eyes fell heavy as she thought, and soon she drifted into a light slumber as she waited for Peter to return.


	40. Geared up and Ready to go!

Sorry that it's taken so long to update guys! I promise not to take so long next time! XD This chapter is a couple pages longer than the usual, an offering of forgiveness! LOL!

Peter had checked his phone every hour on the hour with no calls. He didn't want to call and make Claire feel incompetent or agitate Sylar with the thought that he needed to check up on them. It was odd not being around Sylar for such a long period of time after having been in the same vicinity for almost half a year. He was surprised how attached he had become to him.

As soon as his relief, June, had arrived, Peter filled her in on the daily events of their patient before bidding June a whispered goodnight so as to not wake the now sleeping family before exiting.

It only took about fifteen minutes to reach his apartment with the daily traffic cut in half. He bounded up the stairs almost anxious to see what was awaiting him on the other side of his apartment door. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noted a dozing Claire on the couch and soft snores coming out from the bedroom he and Sylar shared.

Peter leaned over the couch and gently shook Claire as he whispered, "Wakey, wakey sunshine."

Claire took in a deep breath of air, stretching, "Peter! I must of fell asleep. How was work?" She smiled up at him as she fully woke up.

Peter crouched down resting his arms across the back of the couch as he gave her his characteristically warm smile and responded, "Oh …good, but different. It's been awhile since I've been on my own without having Sylar in the vicinity. Speaking of, how did it go tonight? Did you two get along okay?"

Claire's smile grew even bigger, "We had a lot of fun!" Then, as though she were indulging top secret information, "We baked cookies together! They're on the counter if you want some." She raised her eyebrows for dramatic effect, clearly pleased with herself.

Peter's body visibly relaxed as he had been worried by the way Sylar had been acting that Claire would have been put off and not want to come back. He glanced back towards the kitchen, "Baked cookies you say? Wow. You really are a miracle worker!" Peter chuckled softly before turning back to Claire, "I really appreciate you helping out like you are."

Claire smiled, inwardly relaxing at the thought that Peter wouldn't question Sylar's behavior further, "It's not a problem. I'm glad to help. Actually, I really like it so far." As she stood up, she remembered a question Sylar had asked, "Gabriel had asked about going to Central Park and I wanted to run it past you first. Is it ok with you if we go out sometimes?"

Peter hesitated slightly feeling a bit over protective but finally conceded with himself that this whole exercise was about building trust and preparing Sylar to return back to the real world with a stronger foundation. He then nodded slowly in agreement, "I think that'll be all right. Just make sure you're back home by dark."

Claire saw in the inner struggle, and when Peter finally let go and agreed she put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, we will be. I think it'll be good for him to get out more." Feeling tired, and wanting to duck out before Peter could raise any more questions about Sylar's behavior, Claire stretched again and said, "Well, I think I'll head out if you don't mind. Gotta get up early for school." She went about collecting the board games and gathered up her bag before turning to Peter to say good bye.

Peter gave her a hug on her way out saying, "Be careful driving out there. I hadn't really thought about how late you'd be getting out of here most nights. I hope that won't mess up your sleep too much. Maybe we can work something out where you can crash here a few nights a week for convenience? I can make some room for a few things of yours to stash here? It's up to you?"

"That would be great, thanks! I didn't think I'd get as tired as I did tonight, but I'll adjust soon enough....and don't worry, I'll be careful driving home. Promise!" Claire waved as she walked down the hall and out to her car, eager to get home for some sleep.

Peter watched her go giving a small wave as she did. And when he heard the door downstairs close and her car start up, he was satisfied to close the door and treat himself to some of the two's cookies.

Noah had stayed in the den waiting up for Claire even though Sandra had pleaded for him to come to bed. He trusted Claire for the most part, but the Company man in him couldn't leave well enough alone, and so he had to have conformation his Claire bear was home safe and sound.

Claire walked into the house, noticing the light on in her father's den. She laughed and sighed quietly to herself at the fact that the men in her family worried about her so, even though she can never die or be hurt. Putting her book bag down, she leaned into the doorway to the den. "Waiting up for me?" She grinned at her father.

Noah leaned back away from his computer taking off his glasses and spinning slowly in her direction. He gave her a loving knowing smile as he responded, "Oh, you know me, I'm just working late. So how did it go?"

Claire smirked at his answer, fully showing an amused 'Yea, right!' in her expression before answering his question. "Great, except for the first few minutes when we were settling in, but after that we had a lot of fun playing Battleship and baking cookies. Dad, I'm getting to like Gabriel. He's not what you think; I can tell."

Noah's eyebrow lifted in speculation as he responded, "Well you've only been around him for one day. Just be careful he's not playing you and Peter. This whole thing could just be a charade."

Claire sighed, "I know; I'll be careful. It's just that some things you can't fake." She knew she was likely frustrated more from exhaustion than from what her dad had said. "It's been a long day. I'm gonna go to bed."

Noah's brow stitched together in concern at her obvious agitation with him, but he didn't stop her as she exited the office. She had already left before the soft spoken, "Goodnight Claire bear," escaped his lips. He sighed leaning back in his chair the realization of just how tired he was settled in around him, and he rose from his chair with a groan and went to bed himself.

Peter awoke in a particularly good mood, happy that Sylar had behaved himself. Seeing that he was still asleep, Peter dressed and went into the kitchen to make waffles and bacon as a treat. By the time he had the batter ready, the coffee was made, the smell wafting up into his nostrils and making him smile. By the end of his first cup, he was finished cooking and set the table, happily humming to himself.

Sylar awoke to the smells of sweet syrup; he smiled batting his sleepy eyes and rolling off the bed to follow his growling stomach out to where Peter was busily setting their food onto the table. "Smells great!" Sylar said before thinking, 'If he's in this good of a mood, things must have went over well last night with Claire.'

Peter smiled at him, "I thought you deserved it for being so nice to Claire yesterday." He sat down and poured syrup over his own waffles, preparing to eat. "I know it was difficult for you to accept, this is just a little thank you."

Sylar smiled sheepishly looking down at the waffle in front of him as he thought, 'You wouldn't be so nice if you'd known how the day started off once you had left yesterday!' He responded with, "Thanks… I'm starving," as he picked up his fork and commenced to cutting into his waffle.

Peter noticed Sylar's sheepish grin. "You alright?" he asked, wondering if Sylar wasn't in the mood for waffles but didn't want to admit it, or if it was something about Claire. But, that didn't seem right, Claire was so happy when he'd come home.

Sylar glanced up in surprise, "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm great." Wanting to change the subject, Sylar quickly added, "How was work last night?"

Peter studied Sylar's face for a moment before responding, "It was good, strange without you there." Peter shrugged. "Did you have fun with Claire? She seemed to have fun with you." Peter grinned and then playfully said, "I didn't know you could bake so well."

Sylar let out a laugh at the baking comment, "Yeah, me either," he joked back before continuing, "Claire is really sweet; I didn't think we were going to hit it off, but she surprised me on a lot of levels." Sylar had visibly relaxed now feeling more comfortable knowing for certain now that Peter didn't know anything about the night before and that Claire had expressed that she to liked hanging out with him.

The two finished their breakfasts and went about their regular routine as the day went on. It was almost three in the afternoon, and Sylar couldn't help his eyes constantly drifting over to the wall clock above the TV. He was anxious for Claire to come back over now as just the fact that she was an interesting new person to talk to was enough to excite him like a child waiting to attend their first day of school.

"That eager to get rid of me?" Peter laughed a bit teasingly at Sylar, noticing the numerous looks to the clock

Sylar had been glancing at the clock when Peter had asked and being taken off guard answered, "Huh? Oh, no! I just… well, I'm kind of looking forward to hanging out with Claire again. She's the first person, besides you, that I've really had any long contact with in awhile."

"Yea, I figured as much," Peter said, smiling as he leaned against the door frame, arms folded across his chest, looking in on Sylar from the kitchen. "How about a game of chess to make the time go faster?"

Sylar smiled replying, "That sounds quite lovely. I'll get the board" He retreated into the bedroom to pull the game off the bookshelf and bring it in to set on the dining room table opening up the box and starting to set up the board.

Peter snickered at Sylar's phrasing, happy at the high spirits that Claire's pending arrival brought on. Joining Sylar at the table, the two of them started their game, playfully bantering about who was going to win. Before any winner could be decided, a knock sounded at the door.

Sylar's head spun to the door with great interest as he looked back at Peter excitedly debating whether or not he should answer the door or let Peter.

Peter smiled as he watched Sylar, often – as now – thinking just how childlike the de-aged man seemed. 'Then again, I guess he always DID act like a kid,' Peter thought to himself. Biting his lip and raising his eyebrows, he nodded to the door as if to say, 'go ahead.'

Sylar took his cue sliding off his seat and padding quickly over to answer the door with a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

Peter grinned after him, getting up himself to run into the bedroom and quickly change into his scrubs.

Claire was standing outside the door, slightly bouncing from the knee, eager to have some fun. When the door opened, a huge smile broke across her face as she looked down at an adorably happy Sylar grinning up at her. Taking two steps into the apartment, she dropped what she was carrying and grabbed him up into a hug, half seeing how he'd react, half wanting to. While she was excited to see him, she did keep what her father had said, and was eager to prove him wrong about Sylar. "Well hello Gabriel!"

Sylar giggled goofily, "Put me down! I know I'm irresistible and all, but control yourself woman!" He did hug her back and was pleased to see she was as excited to see him again as he was to see her.

Claire laughed, letting him down and mussing his hair. "Oh fine, if I have to," she said with a dramatic sigh, feigning deep disappointment. Then, a split second later, she grinned down at him conspiratorially and whispered, "Are there any cookies left? I'm starving!"

Sylar cut eyes over to Peter with a devious grin knowing Peter had just eaten the last cookie. Peter blushed feeling slightly bad as he responded, "I kind of ate them after lunch, but I did bake you two a lasagna for dinner." Sylar added, "If you just want a snack, there's some fresh fruit in the fridge."

"Fresh fruit will work." Looking from Peter towards the kitchen and back, Claire's face was suspended over the course of a few seconds in a sort of amazed stupor as she thought about how many cookies remained when she left last night. "You don't usually get baked goods, do you Peter?" She giggled, trying to figure out if that meant she should see to it that he gets them more often, or if doing so would reign havoc on his waistline.

Peter laughed glancing at Sylar with a wry smile, "Oh I wasn't the only culprit! I usually try not to keep too much junk food in the house, but those cookies were dang good!" Peter glanced at the time and sighed, "I'm going to head out before traffic gets too bad," he mussed Sylar's hair and gave Claire a hug before continuing, "Emergency numbers are still on the fridge, I'll see you tonight around midnight okay?"

"Sounds good," Claire smiled after him. She watched as the door closed and then shot her eyes to Sylar. "No homework," she said with raised eyebrows before stalking off to the fridge.

Sylar's eyes lit up as he followed her all the while, a mischievous grin growing on his lips, "No homework eh? So then, does that mean you want to go out and about today?" he asked hopefully.

A mischievous grin grew on Claire's face as she shrugged, "Maybe." Getting an apple out of the fridge and taking a bite, and unable to keep up the game longer, she spun on her heel and said, "Yes! Where do you wanna go?"

Sylar's eyes turned to the ceiling as he contemplated. After a moment he focused back on her and suggested, "How about Central Park? It's not too late to rent a canoe. We could bring some snacks with us, and it's not too far from here. What do you think?"

Claire tried not to giggle as Sylar contemplated, but he just looked too cute staring up at the ceiling as he thought. "Central Park sounds fun – I've never been in a canoe!" Claire said as she started rooting around in the cupboards and refrigerator for snacks to bring.

As Claire packed snacks, Sylar gathered up a back pack to put the food in as well as the remains of an almost finished loaf of bread for the ducks that would surely venture up to their canoe. He was surprised that Claire had never been on a canoe before and was excited at the prospect of her being able to try something fun and new alongside him.

"You know, since Peter made dinner for us we can stay out even longer," Claire said happily as she carried the snacks to the back pack Sylar had scrounged up. "Bread for the ducks – great idea! You ready?"

Sylar beamed happily as he nodded his agreement, "I've been ready all day! Do you want to take the subway? We could walk, but it'll take about a half an hour, not that I mind the walk. It's up to you though."

Claire grinned at his enthusiasm, "Well you know this area and its parking better than me. I could drive us or we could walk. I don't feel like the subway today." Claire watched Sylar pick up the back pack, ready to go.

Giving her a devious look, Sylar responded, "We could walk, there are plenty of stores along the way that might draw your interest."

"Stores?" Claire asked excitedly, completely missing the look on Sylar's face. "Yea, let's do that, I haven't gotten to see many of the stores in New York yet! C'mon," Claire said as she quickened her pace for the door.

Excited to be out and about with Claire, Sylar bound for the door and raced down the stairs swaying to and fro from his now weighed down backpack, "Hey! Wait for me chick!"

Giggling and just as excited, Claire playfully jogged in place and yelled, "C'mon! We've got stores to peek into!" Once Sylar was next to her, her pace slowed so that they could talk and joke with each other.

He panted vigorously as his little legs tried to catch up to her thinking about how he'd never realized how hard it could be to be so short, "As long as you don't want to go shopping for shoes, I'm in." He smiled slyly at her before continuing, "You know, the two-story Disney store is on the way, we could terrorize the help fiddling with all their toys."

Claire shot Sylar a look of complete and utter disappointment at the shoe comment, but her face lit up just as fast at his suggestion of going into the Disney store. "I've never been in that Disney store! Two stories? ...Let's do that!"


	41. Doing the Town

The two walked along chatting about Claire's classes and future plans to go to Riverside park and getting fifty cent hot dogs at the 72nd street stand where the subway exited by the park. Sylar saw the sign first and pointed, "My dear, we have arrived."

Claire looked up to see the metallic facade of the World of Disney with Mickey and Minnie perched on the very top. Though a teen, she couldn't help but wiggle with excitement as they proceeded through the doors. Looking up, she saw larger than life statues peppered throughout the magical store. "Where do you want to go first?" she asked excitedly.

Sylar shifted Claire a devious grin grabbing her hand and trucking up the side staircase to the huge mound of stuffed animals, to which he promptly took a dive, head first, into sending Disney plush characters in all directions before emerging within the fuzzy lot with a loud giggle. He'd always wanted to do that, and now being in the body of a kid, he figured he could get away with it.

"Gabriel!" Claire tried to reprimand as she laughed hysterically. Watching him for a moment, she took a quick look around before jumping in herself. "Good idea," she said as she tossed a Minnie at him, grinning mischievously.

The two shared a long laugh immersed within the stuffed animals until the fast 'click' 'click' of heels could be heard from the backside of the room as the store clerk's high pitched voice rang out in dismay, "Excuse me! Excuse me! You can't do that here! I'm going to have to ask you to remove yourself from that display immediately!" Sylar rolled his eyes and scooted up and off the platform as several of the plush toys followed suit and the attendant quickly bent down to start scooping them up off the floor.

"Sorry – let us clean it up," Claire jumped off the platform and began rearranging the toys to how they had been, shooting Sylar a sly look to indicate that he should help while she tried to repress a grin.

Sylar suppressed the chuckle that threatened to escape his throat as he also bent down to help. The attendant pleased that the two didn't act rude or give her any grief smiled a tight grin at them adjusting her glasses and asking, "Is there anything in particular you were looking for that I can help you with?"

"Ah – um, no. Thank you," Claire stammered out, a blush slightly rising in her cheek as she gave the attendant a quick smile.

Sylar covered his mouth in an attempt to keep the chuckle contained which seemed to only make Claire blush further. "Come on Claire, it's getting late, so we should probably get heading to the park before it's too dark to enjoy our canoe ride."

Claire gave Sylar a glare that wasn't fully playful when she saw him laughing at her embarrassment. "Ok, as long as you promise not to get us into anymore trouble," she said as she led him out of the store.

Sylar's grin didn't falter under Claire's glare as he was having too much fun watching her squirm. Holding her hand as she rushed them out of the store, he replied to her with, "Trouble? Mwa? Never! Not to worry, the park is only seven or so blocks North and four avenues over, so we should be there in fifteen minutes or so."

Claire tried to keep glaring, she really did, but the grin on his face and his little hand nestled in hers as he tried to keep up had her silently giggling before she could stop herself. Now only able to produce a mock glare, she warned "Pro-mise!"

His eyes glittered in the afternoon sun brightly up at her as he gave her a solid nod and a giggle. The two made it across town and to Central Park in about the estimated fifteen minutes. Admiring Strawberry Fields and the John Lennon walk with musicians playing a myriad of old melodies reminiscent of the seventies. "I always liked Central Park," Sylar stated almost absently as he stared off at nothing in particular.

Claire looked around, seeing what he meant. "Did you come here a lot?" She looked down at him, noting the wonderment that played across his face.

Sylar shrugged before looking back up at her a hint of sadness danced across his features before he looked away and responded, "I used to come here every other Saturday with my mother. She loved the park and it was one of the few times I could ever get her out of the house."

Claire hugged him into her, "Maybe we should try to come once a week. If you  
wanna talk about it more..."

Sylar felt a need for the hug and appreciated it, but he pushed away from the gesture by growing rigid. Overwhelming guilt pooled into his stomach as flashes of his mother's stunned expression flitted through bloody memories and he was unable to say anything on Claire's comment other than, "We should get going."

Claire's face dropped, frightened and worried at the change in Sylar. "Going? Gabriel, you were looking forward to a canoe ride all day. What happened? What's wrong?" Claire took a hold of his shoulders, looking into his eyes as though she was physically searching for an answer.

Sylar not wanting to let Claire in on his inner turmoil shook his head as he lied, "No, I meant, we should get going to the canoe ramp." He let a strangled smile crawl across his face and hoped Claire would let it go.

Pulling him into another hug, Claire whispered, "Gabriel, what am I going to do with you?" Looking him over once more, "Ok, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to – but it'd probably make you feel better to talk about it. ...and you can. Anytime."

Sylar melted slightly at her words surrounded by the warm embrace. Tears welled up in his eyes momentarily brought on by Claire's kindness and his own remorse. Terrified at this new show of vulnerability, he averted his eyes to keep the fact hidden quickly responding, "Thanks, but really, I'm okay. Let's get to that canoe… I'm looking forward to feeding the ducks…"

Claire kissed the top of his head, "I bet those ducks are looking forward to you feeding them! C'mon!" She'd seen the tears in his eyes, but knew he wasn't ready to talk about whatever the memory of his Mom had brought up. Instead of forcing him to talk, she slunk her arm around his shoulder, "Now, where is that ramp?"

Sylar breathed a sigh of relief at the fact Claire didn't push the topic and brightening slightly he pointed up the hill and responded, "We are not far now; it's just around the bend."

"Well, lead the way!" Claire giggled as his mood seemed to improve instantly. Within minutes they'd made it to the ramp and she paid for a canoe ride. "Ok, now what?" She asked as she looked at the canoe a bit ominously.

Sylar rolled his eyes playfully at Claire before giving her a big grin, "Are you serious? Here," he pointed at one end, "You push, I'll pull. Once we get it to the water's edge, you climb in, and I'll give the final push to get us out in the water." He then tossed his backpack into the boat and set about pulling the boat across the sandy embankment.  
Claire scrunched her face up in an exaggerated mock glare before hearing the rest of what he said. "A gentleman, I see," she smiled before going to push the canoe.

Working together the two had the boat to the shore's edge rather quickly. Sylar then came around to the front where Claire had been pushing and instructed, "Help me push the boat half way into the water then go ahead and get in, and go to the back of the boat. Once you are settled, I'll push the boat the rest of the way in and climb in myself."

Claire nodded, and when it was time she excitedly climbed in and then turned to watch Sylar. "Woohoo, c'mon Gabriel!

Sylar grunted with effort digging his heels into the sand as he heaved with all his might. The boat slid slowly and finally into the water. Wiping the small outbreak of sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, Sylar exclaimed, "Whew! I think I need to go to a gym!" Huffing out a small laugh he hoped into the boat and used the oar to push the boat the last couple inches it needed to send it adrift before sitting down shakily and catching his breath.

"What? I think you did great!" Claire beamed at him, "Ok Mr Gentleman, you're leading this adventure – which way are we going?"

Still slightly tired from his recent exertion Sylar leaned back and responded, "I'm all for just following the current for a bit, it's not a hard row either way."

"Need some water? ...or a pear? ….or a juice? …..or some crackers?" Claire laughed, pulling each out as though she were a magician.

Sylar rolled his eyes playfully before giving her a smirk, "Actually some water sounds pretty good." He gulped a good swig from the bottle she handed him, and feeling much better, he set his water down and picked up his oar as he asked, "Do you know how to row?"

Claire shook her head at the question, "I have no experience in any of this."

"Well, luckily for you, I have plenty!" Sylar pointed at her oar as he continued while using his oar as a visual aide, "What you do is whatever side I'm rowing on, you take the opposite otherwise we will be turning in circles. Plunge the oar in about halfway … like this and let your arm do the rest."

Claire watched Sylar's instruction closely and easily emulated his actions, "I think I got it....like this?"

Sylar nodded at her proudly and imitating an English accent, "By jove! I think she's got it!"

Claire laughed at Sylar as she rowed, "Well, you're a good teacher. This is fun!" Claire looked around as she rowed, enjoying the exertion.

The two rowed for a good ten minutes in amicable silence and once out far enough the two could enjoy the privacy the lake afforded them, Sylar stated, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving! You feel like busting open the backpack O food my dear?"

"Certainly my sweet," Claire said in a Julia Child voice and proceeded to pull out fruits, crackers and all sorts of tasty treats along with water and juice. They both shared a nice snack as they watched the world float by and gabbed about nothing in particular.

The sun was starting to wane when Sylar saw a group of ducks near the shoreline. He nodded in their direction, "Hey Claire, do you want to help me row towards the ducks? Feeding them has always been a guilty pleasure of mine."

Claire was tugged out of her reverie, "Sure, but remember we gotta be home by dark!"

A streak of irritation flashed across his face at the mention of a curfew although he said nothing on it but merely picked up his oar and commented blandly, "It should only take a few minutes to get to them, and even less to feed them if you are in a hurry."

Claire watched Sylar closely and sighed, "No, you're right - take your time. Peter told me he wanted us back by sundown and I guess I forgot to mention it. I don't want to cut your favorite part short and I'm having fun, too. Just – from now on – we're supposed to be back before dark, ok?"

Sylar brightened at Claire's words and responded, "I only brought six slices of bread with us, so I don't think we'll get back too much after dark if we don't make it home right at dark."

Claire gave a small smile in response, wondering if she was doing the right thing. 'He better not be playing me,' she thought. "Well, one little mistake the first time can't be too bad."

With Claire's help, the two made it over to the shore and the ducks ambled into the water used to getting scraps from the many passersby. Sylar dug the bag of bread out handing three slices to Claire so that she could participate as well. He tore a small chunk from one slice and tossed it into the water as he remarked, "Thanks Claire. I know you are trying to follow the rules Peter set out."

Not expecting Sylar to give her any bread, Claire's mood instantly smoothed. Ruffling his hair before tossing in some torn pieces of bread, she said, "Aww, it's nothing – I won't tell if you don't! Besides, just this once couldn't hurt." Claire giggled as the ducks gathered around, quacking manically. "I like their big ducky cheeks!"

"That they do," Sylar said laughing at Claire's silliness a grin spreading from ear to ear as he threw small bits of his bread in the air. He was sure to toss the portions in between the gaggle to get the ducks to fight over the pieces getting them to turn in circles in a fever to be the one to get the bread first. He wanted to horde the bread and draw the experience out, but he knew Claire really wanted to get back to shore and home before dark, so he appropriated the time with her in mind. Noticing she was also enjoying herself, he smiled warmly in her direction before turning his attention back to feeding the ducks.

Throwing in her last bit of bread, Claire got brave and quickly shot her hand out to pet one of the ducks that was going for a piece of bread. Just as she was within reach, it turned to nip at her quickly receding hand and – missing – then went back to fighting for the bread. "Almost!" Claire yelled to Sylar as she laughed at the thrill of it.

Sylar's eyes widened as he remarked, "Are you trying get bit crazy girl?" He shook his head flicking the last two chunks of his bread into the water and watched them get devoured. He chuckled softly before turning to Claire and noticing she was also out of bread he asked, "Ready to head back now?"

Claire shrugged shyly and smiled, watching him toss in his last bits of bread. "Yea, I think we better head back. Let's go." Claire began cleaning up the mess they'd made in the canoe so that they could row back.

After helping pack away the wrappers and containers from their picnic, Sylar grabbed his oar and waiting for Claire began paddling back to shore. "I had a lot of fun out here with you Claire. Maybe we can make this a regular trip… when you have the money of course… I know those canoes can get expensive and all." He glanced at her to survey her feelings on what he had said.

Claire nodded, "I'd really like that – I think I could handle once every other week." After a few minutes, they were at the shore near the return platform. "Want me to hop out and pull us in? Is that how it's done?"

Sylar held up a hand to stop Claire in her tracks, "Allow me, just because I'm pint sized doesn't mean I'm still not a gentleman," he smiled warmly at her before hopping out of the boat and catching a small amount of the shore to splash his pants up to the knees before he grabbed the rope and tugged the boat in far enough for Claire not to get wet.

Claire stopped abruptly, ducking her head a bit and smiling brightly as she watched Sylar take care of things for her. Seeing him get himself so wet dismayed her, and when she exited the boat she hugged him around the shoulders, "Are you cold?"

Sylar brushed her concerns away with, "Oh, I'm good. Besides, we aren't too far from the house, and we'll be home before you know it."

Claire blinked, remembering his true age. While she wouldn't admit it, she couldn't help but see him as the cute little boy he now was – made easier by his childish personality. Ruffling his hair she said, "Ok, well let's get a move on so we can get you out of those wet clothes! ...if you get cold, I can flag down a taxi."

He playfully batted the assaulting hand away with an added, "Cut that out you!" Sylar decided two could play that game and grabbed her sides to see if she was ticklish.

Claire squealed, twitching this way and that yelling as she laughed, "Stoooop!" Getting loose from him, she turned and began an attack of her own on his sides. "Sneak attack *me* will you?!" Passerby turned to look and smile at what was – by all appearances – a sister with her younger brother playing on the sidewalk.

Sylar's eyes shot up in surprise as he tried to run and Claire tackled him. The two rolled onto the grass and he tried between fits of laughter to escape her assault. "Okay! Uncle! Uncle!" He squalled out unable to get any leverage and accepting defeat.

Claire stopped tickling him and patted him on the back, "Muh ha ha, let that be a lesson to not start tickling wars with someone who has nails!" Standing, she offered him her hand.

Sylar took her hand as she hoisted him up in one pull. He commenced to brushing the grass off his clothes as he replied, "I'll keep that in mind!" Shifting his backpack into a more comfortable position, he added looking up at the sky, "We better get going; it's already almost dark."

The navy blue Plymouth's engine roared as Noah turned the key and proceeded to pull out of his parking spot. He let out a deflated sigh as he watched the two exit the park walking jovially down the street. He knew he really shouldn't be spying on Claire like this, but the father in him couldn't just stand by while his daughter escorted a serial killer around and just 'hope' that he wouldn't try to hurt her. Noah had to admit that he was surprised by what he had seen of the two's interactions and wondered if maybe Sylar really had turned a new leaf?


	42. Growing Pains

Claire and Sylar walked back to the apartment, cheerfully gabbing about nothing in particular. By the time they had reached their block, the sun had fully set. Claire's stomach growled, "I don't know about you, but lasagna sure sounds good!"

Sylar nodded with a vigor responding, "Peter's a great cook especially when it comes to pasta dishes. I'll race you!" He didn't give Claire a chance to process what he'd said as he bolted towards the steps to the apartment.

Mouth falling open, Claire then playfully frowned and chased after him, "Hey, no fair!" She didn't catch up to him until the apartment door. Smiling at him slyly, Claire opened the door for them and waited for him to enter first.

Now out of breath, Sylar wiped the small bit of sweat off his brow and thanked her in on huff of air. They ambled up the steps and entered the dark hallway to the apartment door. Claire opened the door, and they both entered the dark room as Claire flipped the light on. Sylar glanced over his shoulder as he told Claire, "I'm going to grab a shower right quick."

Claire was already headed to the kitchen, "Ok, I'm gonna put the lasagna in now!" Turning the oven on and sticking the lasagna in, Claire then set the table and sat to watch some TV while Sylar finished up.

Sylar grabbed his pajamas and headed to the bathroom stopping to watch Claire for a moment along the way. He examined her movements as she removed the lasagna from the fridge and proceeded to place the dish in the oven. She was truly a beautiful girl he thought both inside and out. Not wanting to be caught lingering any longer, he continued on to the bathroom.

Feeling the hot beads of water beat down the back of his head and back, Sylar realized just how tuckered out he was. His sinuses were beginning to tingle as well, and he wondered if getting wet at the park and the slightly chilly walk home was getting him sick. He really hoped not putting the thought to the back of his mind as he finished up his shower.

By the time he'd dried off and dressed, Claire was already relaxing on the couch watching some teen drama on the TV. He padded into the living room and climbed up onto the couch next to her settling in to the soft cushions with a small groan.

Claire, who'd been completely absorbed in her show, immediately noted the groan and turned to Sylar in concern. "What's wrong?" she asked as she rubbed his head, and – noting the heat – jumped up and hovered over him, feeling his cheeks with her hands and her own cheek, "Do you have a fever? Oooh, poor thing – Peter's gotta have a thermometer around here...." Running to the bathroom, she fished in the medicine cabinet until she found it and raced back to Sylar, "Ok, put this under your tongue." Sitting next to him, she snuggled him to her and rubbed his head while she waited for the beep of the thermometer.

Sylar's stomach tightened at Claire's fussing over him and feeling embarrassed he didn't want to comply, but from what little he'd learned thus far, there was no arguing with Claire as she surely wasn't going to take no for an answer. The thermometer finally beeped, and Claire withdrew it to decipher the results.

"Hmmm, no fever – not yet anyway – that's good," Claire smiled at him, rubbing his back. "Do you feel ok? Want some hot tea or anything?"

Sylar shrugged meekly, "I'm okay; just a little sore from the rowing is all."

"Ga-bri-el," Claire warned, "you better not be telling me fibs."

Sylar already not feeling well scrunched his eyes up in agitation looking angrily at the couch cushion to not direct his anger at Claire for calling him out on his lie in such a condescending manner. He growled under his breath doing his best to sit up and look perfectly healthy for Claire's benefit, "You don't have to mother hen me Claire, I'm fine. Really."

Hovering over him as she was, Claire saw the entire emotional drama currently going on within Sylar's mind that played across his face. Sighing, Claire realized that kids often get cranky when they don't feel well and Sylar Was in a kid's body - so decided to remain calm, "Gabriel, I'm here to watch AND take care of you. You need someone to mother hen you sometimes, everyone does, and I want to do it."

Sylar sighed in defeat, "I gather I'm not going to be able to stop you if I tried." At that moment, the over timer sounded for the lasagna, and Sylar glanced back towards the kitchen eager to change the subject, "Food's on." He stated looking at Claire with a small tired smile.

Claire gave him a warm smile seeing the illness in his eyes, "Why don't we eat here – we can put our plates on the coffee table. You stay, I'll get the food." Patting him on the shoulder, she quickly got two plates of food ready, "Gabriel, what do you want to drink – juice or water?"

Happy that Claire wasn't going to treat him like a baby because he was sick, he responded cheerfully, "Water is fine for me. …Thanks Claire."

Sylar flipped through the stations and finding nothing of interest settled back on the station Claire had been watching before digging in himself saying, "Peter is pretty good at this home-maker thing isn't he?" He laughed at the thought turning to watch Claire shovel in fork full after fork full.

Claire's eyes shot wide as she tried not to choke on the mouthful of lasagna she'd nearly inhaled. "Mmmhrmm," she agreed, trying to stifle the giggles that threatened to bust out at the thought of Peter in an apron and oven mits. Finally swallowing she looked at Sylar, whispering once her mouth was empty, "Could you picture him dressed like Suzie Homemaker?!"

Sylar did imagine and laughed loudly at the thought, "Oh that would be priceless!" Grinning gleefully at her he shook his head and took another bite to stop from laughing out loud again.

They joked back and forth throughout the rest of the meal, and when they were both finished Claire took the plates back to the kitchen and cleaned up after saying, "How about you stay here and read or watch television for awhile? I'll be back in a minute."

Sylar watched her go, and with a full stomach settling on him, he scooted back against the arm of the couch to stretch out fully laying down but still leaving Claire plenty of room to lounge beside him. Being small did have its advantages for space. Between his exhaustion and not feeling very well, Sylar drifted his attention from the TV to Claire listening to her move about cleaning the countertops and finally piling the dishes into the sink. As water from the kitchen sink began splashing around, the soothing sounds had his eyes drooping, and before Claire had finished cleaning the dishes and returned to the couch, Sylar had fallen asleep.

Finished cleaning, Claire came back to the couch to find Sylar sleeping. Deciding trying to move him would likely wake him up; she instead just covered him with a blanket before unpacking some of her things so that she could stay over on occasion. Completing that task, she sat on the couch next to him and drifted off to sleep herself.

Peter opened the door to a dark apartment and a symphony of competing snores. Not wanting to wake the two, Peter quietly snuck to the side of the couch and scooped Sylar off the couch bringing him to his bed.

He saw Claire was half draped off the couch with her mouth hanging agape. He smiled lovingly at her as he gently picked her feet up and moved them from the floor on to the couch where Sylar had been laying. Instant relief spread over the sleeping girl's face and she turned into the back of the couch to snuggle into its warmth. Peter quietly made his way to the hall closet to fetch a blanket for her, and once she was covered, he went about readying himself for bed as well.

Claire sat bolt up hearing someone moving in the apartment, and instantly noted that Sylar was gone. Trying to stand, she nearly tripped over the blanket that she hadn't known she'd been covered with. Catching herself, the remainder of sleep wore off and she realized it was likely just Peter returning home from work. Hearing him in the bathroom she knocked and whispered, "I need to talk to you before you go to bed."

In the middle of brushing his teeth when Claire knocked, Peter quickly spat the toothpaste in the sink and swished a handful of water before opening the door quickly sporting a worried expression, "Is everything okay? Did Gabriel do something wrong?"

"No! No, not at all," Claire said quickly, surprised that Peter would assume such a thing right off the bat. "I think he's coming down with something. He got achy, and he sounded stuffed up and then he passed out on the couch. He didn't have a fever. Oh, I almost forgot, and last night he said he usually has a dull pain from always growing – is there anything you could do about that?"

Peter visibly relaxed still a bit nervous at leaving Sylar alone with anyone other than himself, "Sick? I do have some cold and flu medication for kids in the cabinet here," he turned back to the medicine cabinet and dug out a bottle of cold syrup and a packet of sinus medicine. His eyebrows scrunched up in worry at Claire's revelation, "Dull pain from growing? He never mentioned this to me."

Remembering what it had taken to subdue Sylar enough to talk to her, Claire nearly blushed. After a moment she smiled and with a shrug of the shoulders simply said, "Oh, he didn't mention it to me, either. I asked."

Peter's eyebrows shot up in surprise replying, "Yeah? I guess I never thought about the rate of his growth being painful for him. Just in the past four months the Company doctors have said he's grown about two years worth." Peter leaned against the door frame staring off at nothing in particular as he mulled Claire's words over feeling slightly guilty for being around Sylar so long and never realizing that he was sometimes in pain.

Claire saw the guilt, "Well, it has been awhile since you've had a growing spurt – and Gabriel hides these things. He wouldn't even admit he didn't feel well tonight," Claire shrugged. "How were you supposed to know?"

Peter nodded slowly at her words before his eyes drifted up to hers, "Yeah. I guess you're right. I just wish that he wouldn't feel the need to hide these kinds of things from me. I try my best not to pry in on his thoughts these days as I don't think it's right to invade his privacy and all, but sometimes…" he shook his head, "No. It's got to be him who willingly tells me how he feels otherwise he's never going to truly trust me you know?"

"Or I can just nudge it out of him and tell you," Claire smiled as she joked. "You will take care of it, right? ...you aren't upset?" Claire knew Peter wanted to help everyone, and that he probably really had his feelings hurt. "He is new to all of this, after all."

Peter smiled softly at her, "Naw, I'm not upset; I just hate being the last one to know about stuff like this… I mean, this is only your second day with him, and you're breaking milestones of trust. He must really like you. That's a good thing; I think your influence can only be a positive addition to his rehabilitation."

Claire blushed and giggled, "Never underestimate a woman's touch. It works wonders!" Checking her watch she added, "I'm gonna take you up on that offer of staying overnight – I'm tired!"

Peter pushed himself off the wall giving Claire a strong squeeze and a kiss on the forehead, "That sounds like a plan, and since you're our guest, how about a pancake breakfast before school?"

Claire's eyes lit up, "Pancakes?! That'd be great, thanks! ...I better call my Dad and let him know I'm staying tonight. Goodnight Peter." Claire gave him a quick hug before turning to go get his phone.

Before she started dialing, Peter turned on his heel to ask, "What time do you need to get up? I can set my alarm."

Pausing, Claire thought a moment before responding, "From here....I think six thirty. Thanks Peter." Claire smiled and then dialed the number, waiting for her father to pick up.

Peter nodded and continued to retreat into the bedroom closing the door softly behind him. On Claire's end, the phone only rang twice before Noah answered with a hurried tone, "Hello? Claire?"

"Dad, hi – you don't have to wait up, I'm just going to sleep here tonight. Ok?" Claire said as she smiled at his tone, twirling her fingers in the cord.

There was a long pause on the other end marking clear unhappiness from Noah yet he did not voice it. He did finally respond with, "Are you going to start staying over there regularly?"

"I doubt it, but wouldn't staying over sometimes be better than me driving by myself so late at night every night?" Claire asked with a bit of irritation in her voice. Relenting a little she added much more kindly, "...I'm just really tired tonight is all. Is that ok?"

Noah worried about Claire's safety answered, "Of course it is Claire bear; I just don't want this job to interfere with your school work, and your mother will miss having you here for breakfast you know."

Claire sighed before saying, "I know. It won't interfere, and I'll miss you all too." Then she excitedly added, "...Peter's making me pancakes."

Noah chuckled at Claire's enthusiasm, "Well, I know how fond you are of pancakes. Perhaps one night a week you can bring him over here? It will give your mother, Lyle, and I a chance to see you during the week."

Claire took a quick breath, shocked by the suggestion. "Oh, I dunno...that..that'd be ok? I can ask them both, but...you'd like that? ...you have to promise to be nice, though!"

Noah responded carefully, "I wasn't planning to be mean… just observant. I'm as curious as you to this so called change. And if Peter is okay with it, I think it could be a good experience for us all."

Claire smiled, "I think so, too. And once you get to know him you won't worry anymore."

Noah responded in a neutral tone, "We will see. Ask Peter what he thinks, and we will go from there."

"Yes we will," Claire responded a bit heatedly, tired as she was. "I'll ask Peter in the morning. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you."

Sensing his daughter's growing aggravation in her tone with him, Noah responded with a sweet, "Alright; sleep well honey. I love you to."

Claire hung up, feeling rather guilty before yawning and being able to only think of sleep. Without even brushing her teeth or changing, she plopped back down on the couch and wrapped the blanket around her that Peter had set out. She was asleep within moments.


	43. Plans for the Future

Peter had set the alarm on his watch so as not to wake Sylar; he set it thirty minutes early so that he could start breakfast before Claire needed to get ready. He wanted to be able to dine with her and chat since their most previous encounters had been a few minutes here and there with no real time for relaxing with family which he did crave.

Being Sylar's guardian had isolated him from the fellow Petrelli family, not out of edict, but out of sheer impossibility to juggle them, work, and Sylar. They still made a point to visit Nathan and his family at least twice a month since their return, and Peter was happy for that amount of time spent if any. Angela had stayed away for the most part on account she didn't feel ready to be cordial with a pint sized serial killer, and so, Peter had requested that she not bring her negative attitude around Sylar in fear that her attitude would push back the progress he had made thus far.

Peter went to the business of quietly making his way to the kitchen and using the fridge light for illumination began pulling the needed ingredients from the cabinet shelves and refrigerator racks. Turning the stove's overhead light on, he then went to work throwing the contents together keeping careful watch on the time, so Claire did not oversleep.

Ever a light sleeper, Claire's eyes fluttered open to the noise coming from the kitchen. Yawning and stretching, she untangled herself from the blanket and padded into the kitchen, following the delicious smells of cooking pancakes. "Good morning," Claire whispered with an excited gleam as she eyed the skillet on the stove.

Peter returned the smile ruffling the girl's hair, "You know, you've still got another ten minutes sleep you can get before six thirty?"

Beaming at him she said, "Another benefit of my ability: a little sleep goes a long, long way." Turning her eyes back to the skillet, she asked, "Anything I can help with?"

Peter nodded, "I have reaped the benefits of that little ability! I'm pretty close to being done here; why don't you go ahead and grab a shower. By the time you get done, breakfast should be ready and on the table."

Claire nodded and took off for the bathroom, eager for the relaxing feel of a hot shower. Soon a perfumed steam hung in the air from her body wash as she hurried so that she would not use all of the hot water. Soon she emerged and sat at the table, hair and makeup done, as her stomach growled.

The table had been set for three by the time Claire had finished showering, and Peter had attempted to wake Sylar, but he merely grumbled that he wasn't hungry. After feeling his forehead, Peter noted he was a little warm and had gotten Sylar to take some medicine before going back to sleep. He had closed the door over leaving it cracked so he could hear Sylar call to him if he needed him and went back to finishing breakfast making a pancake on the side for Sylar in case he changed his mind. Peter smiled at Claire as she made her way over to the breakfast table, "Coming right up! I hope you're hungry!" Peter turned off the stove and grabbed the syrup and butter out of the fridge and the huge stack of about ten pancakes on a plate before coming to join Claire at the table. Once all of the items in his hands were distributed on to the table, he sat down beside Claire and remarked with a small frown, "Gabriel says he's not hungry; he felt a little warm, so I gave him some medicine, but I don't think he's going to be joining us for breakfast."

Claire's face turned from extreme pleasure at seeing the pancakes to utter concern, "You don't think it's anything serious, do you? He got a little wet canoeing yesterday...is this my fault?"

Peter shook his head no, "He's in a kid's body; kids immune systems are susceptible to getting sick. He's only slightly warm, and I'm sure he'll be fine. You shouldn't blame yourself. These things happen."

Claire looked at him, a bit unsure but more settled, "Ok...I just hope he gets better soon. Dad wanted to know if Gabriel could spend the night once a week. I think they miss me." Taking on a more serious look, "I told him he has to be nice to Gabriel. I think it'd be good for them both." At that, Claire started serving herself, eager to eat some pancakes.

Peter had already served himself a small stack of pancakes and was currently taking a bite when Claire had voiced her suggestion. He nearly choked having to cover his mouth looking at her with wide eyed astonishment before swallowing and asking, "He what? Oh I don't know about that Claire… I think it's a little too soon for all that."

Claire stared at Peter for a long moment, a bit shocked by his answer. But, she couldn't really blame him – she knew her father and the impression he could make. "Well, if that's how you feel then that's fine. ...but, I'd be there to make sure everything was ok, and if it got tense, we could always come back here." Well, she had asked and defended her view – it was all she could do. Taking a bite of her pancakes, she smiled and said, "Good pancakes, Peter. Thanks again!"

Peter smiled at Claire's comment replying, "Glad you like them Claire. …And it's not that I don't trust you… it's just this is all moving so fast. I will tell you what, let's keep it this way for two weeks, and by the end of the two weeks, if things are still smooth, I'll definitely consider it."

Claire's eyes shot back up as she beamed at him, "It's a deal!" At that, she dug into her food – pancakes were definitely a great way to wake up. After a moment she asked, "So, what do I do with him if he's sick tonight? Will you leave instructions?...you won't stay home from work, will you? I don't mind taking care of him while he's sick."

Taking a moment to consider Claire's offer, Peter agreed, "If you feel comfortable staying with him, I guess it's okay with me. I'll leave out the medicines and a note with time intervals to give it to him in." Peter was going to stay home with Sylar, but he figured Claire could handle taking care of him as long as Sylar's fever didn't get too high.

Still feeling slightly guilty for Sylar falling ill Claire answered, "Good, then there we go!"

Peter's smile broadened as he went back to eating his pancakes commenting, "I appreciate it Claire. I'm sure Sylar will enjoy your company as well."

Claire smiled, finishing up her pancakes as Peter did as well. "Need help with the dishes?"

Peter waved his hand noncommittally shaking his head no, "Don't worry about that; I'll do them when you leave for school."

"Alright," Claire said. Still, she stood and took her dishes to the sink. "I'm gonna get going. I've never driven to school from here, and I don't wanna be late. Thanks for breakfast, Peter!" Claire said, giving him a hug.

Peter followed suit with his dishes after returning Claire's hug goodbye, "Yea, I don't want you to be late, and thanks again for coming over; I really appreciate the help more than you know, and I think Sylar appreciates the change of pace and the company you provide."

Claire shrugged, "It's helpful to me, too. I get to see my favorite uncle more, and I get to make a friend out of the person who scared me the most....and that's a good thing."

Peter grinned responding, "It is. I really missed you, even though I haven't known you all your life, I still feel a unique bond is shared between us. Family is important, more so now than ever."

"I know what you mean," Claire smiled before picking up her book bag and purse. "I missed you too. See ya in a few hours!" At that, Claire left the apartment for school.

Once Claire had left, Peter's eyelids felt heavy and the need to catch a couple more hours of sleep on a full stomach beckoned. Cleaning up the dishes and checking in on Sylar, he got him to take a spoonful of children's Nyquil before tucking him in and climbing into bed himself.


	44. Feeling Better

When Peter next opened his eyes, the sun was shining brightly through the window. Stretching, he looked at the clock to see that it was nine in the morning. After going to the bathroom, Peter again went to check on Sylar. He sat on the bed, shaking Sylar gently as he said, "Hey, want some breakfast yet?"

Over the course of the past couple hours, Sylar had fallen into a sickened stupor and he merely shook his head no lightly and mumbled something to the effect of, "Not hungry…"

Sighing, he patted Sylar's head and rubbed his back for a few minutes before leaving him to get more rest. Around eleven Peter heated some chicken noodle soup, got some crackers, warmed some tea with honey and brought it all on a tray to the bedroom. Setting it on the nightstand, Peter again sat on the bed to rouse Sylar, "Gabriel, hey – I have some soup to make you feel better."

Sylar's mouth watered at the aroma the soup gave off as his sleep encrusted eyes slit open hazily trying to focus. He was hungry now, but he lacked the energy to eat. The fact that Peter had gone so far as to bring it in to him drove him to drum up enough strength to slide up to a sitting position leaning against the headboard of his twin bed. He gave Peter a weak smile and a half whispered through croaking voice, "Thanks Pete."

Peter helped arrange Sylar's pillows so that he was propped up comfortably. Looking Sylar over, Peter decided he'd likely be unable to hold the bowl himself without spilling it and so he scooted closer to the head of the bed and picked up the bowl himself holding it near Sylar's chest, "I'll hold it for you, dig in."

Sylar blushed noticeably feeling vulnerable, but he knew Peter was merely trying to help, and so he swallowed his pride and let Peter take care of him. Grasping the spoon with shaky fingers, he paused a moment to steady himself before plunging the spoon into the steamy broth and bringing a spoonful up to chapped lips. The soup coated his dry throat pooling down into his empty stomach and filled him with waves of both warmth and slight nausea. Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a small sigh, Sylar commented weakly, "I'm sorry I'm being such a bother, but I don't think I can eat this right now. I hope you don't mind."

Peter tsked, "You aren't being a bother, Gabriel." After giving him a meaningful look, Peter set the bowl down and rearranged Sylar back into bed, feeling his forehead. "Get some more rest, I'll be in to check on you."

Sylar nodded not wanting to argue as going back to sleep sounded very ideal. Once his head hit the sheets, it was only a matter of time before he faded back into black. He stayed out for another three hours before starting to stir again. Bleary eyes focused on the clock; it was almost three in the afternoon, and he could hear the TV going in the living room. Sylar frowned wondering why Peter wasn't busy getting ready for work by now. Sliding out of bed, he ambled to the door to peer upon Peter as he wiped the sleep from his eyes and questioned, "You're not in your scrubs yet?"

Peter's eyebrows shot up as he grinned at Sylar, "You're up...you feeling any better?"

Leaning against the door frame, Sylar nodded lightly. He was feeling a little better, but not much. "You're going to be late for work aren't you?"

Peter shrugged noncommittally as he got up, snatching the thermometer off the coffee table, "I'm not sure I'm going. I checked on you each hour and you didn't budge." He raised his eyebrows to signify just how he felt about that. "I'm not sure it'd be fair to you or Claire for me to leave you, and I'd end up worrying all night." Walking to Sylar, Peter crouched down and checked his lymph nodes, tapped his sinuses, grimaced and then ruffled his hair. "Open up," he said holding the thermometer at the ready.

Sylar frowned eyes unable to hide the disappointment of not being able to hang out with Claire if Peter did stay home. "I'm feeling a lot better now… really. Claire and I'll be okay," he whined unintentionally before opening his mouth for the thermometer.

Peter raised his eyebrows at Sylar's whining. He was glad to see Sylar had made such a strong connection so quickly, but did not like him lying just to be able to see said connection. Peter checked the thermometer when it beeped, "a little high, but not really a fever." Turning his eyes back to study Sylar, "How about I reheat the soup for you and we'll see how you are after you eat?"

A heavy sigh left his lips as Sylar looked down nodding his agreement, "I guess I can eat."

Peter ruffled his hair again before leading him to the table, the soup was taken out of the refrigerator and reheated within a couple minutes, during which time Peter busied himself with making Sylar another cup of tea while shooting glances at him here and there. Seeing the grumpiness emerge from Sylar actually pleased Peter. 'That usually means the worst of an illness is over,' he thought as he brought the soup and the tea to the table. "Let's see how you do with that," Peter smiled.

"Thanks Pete," Sylar said as he took his time ingesting the soup and tea, but he made a point to finish it all to satisfy Peter that he was getting better. He had notice Peter's eyes lingering on him, and he did his best to act well hoping Peter would not worry so much for him.

It worked, Peter took the dishes to the sink and quickly washed them. "Why don't you take a shower while I get ready for work? It'll make you feel better."

Brightening at Peter's words, Sylar scuttled to the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water did wonders to ease his achy body and clear out his sinuses. He really was feeling a bit better afterward but nowhere near what he was putting on. In his haste, Sylar had forgotten a change of clothes and so wrapped in a towel that looked like he was wearing a blanket to exit the bathroom.

Peter had just finished putting his scrubs on in the bedroom when he saw Sylar and gave a chuckle. "Well, you do look like you're feeling better after all," he said as he made to leave the room to give Sylar privacy to change.

Sylar smiled at him in his passing shutting the door behind Peter's departure. It didn't take him long to dress and return to the living room. The activity of dressing alone had worn him out, and he made his way over to the couch to curl up in front of the TV while awaiting Claire's arrival. He turned to Peter watching him pack his lunch for work, "Sorry I made you worry about me."

Peter's eyes came up evenly, "No reason to be sorry." Finished packing his lunch, he went to sit with Sylar. "I wrote instructions for medications that I'm going to give to Claire when she gets here. She feels guilty about you getting sick and I'm willing to bet that she'll hover and make you feel like a kid today," Peter grinned encouragingly and shrugged. "Guilt does strange things."

Sylar frowned at Peter's comment unhappy to think Claire felt guilty for his getting sick, "I guess I'll let her hover a bit if it'll make her feel better, but she should know it's not her fault you know?"

Peter shrugged again thoughtfully, "She just feels responsible for you. At least you know she cares."

Sylar did smile then feeling that Peter was right, and the fact that they both cared about him so much gave Sylar a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He responded almost absent mindedly, "Yeah, I know." Sinking further into the couch, Sylar let his fullness lull him into a semi sleep as he rested while watching Peter with half lidded eyes go about getting ready for work.

Just as Peter was about to put his shoes on in the bedroom, a knock sounded from the door. He called out to Sylar, "Want me to get that?"

Sylar considered getting off the couch, but with the way he felt, he was more than willing to let Peter get the door so he wouldn't have to move, "Yeah, that sounds good."

Peter nodded and opened the door to Claire eagerly standing there with eyebrows raised. "How is he?" she asked as she hugged him hello.

Peter smiled softly down at the expectant girl as he answered, "Better than he was this morning. I've left the meds and instructions on the counter for you." He opened the door wider stepping to the side for her to enter.

Claire's eyes opened wide at the happy news, "Where is he?"

Sylar sat up at Claire's voice, brightening noticeably. He waved in her direction as he said, "Over here my dear." He smiled wearily at her to let her know he was pleased to see her.

Claire shot another smile at Peter before beaming at Sylar and scurrying over to him, enveloping him in a wordless hug after dropping her things onto the coffee table.

Claire's hugs were quite addictive Sylar decided as he hugged her back, "How was school?"

Blinking her surprise, she smiled and answered, "Fine. I think – I had trouble concentrating. History was good!"

Peter was pleased to see how well the two were getting along and wished he could observe more, but as it was he was already running late. Looking at his watch as he grabbed his car keys he hovered between the two and interjected, "I'm running late, so I'm going to have to skedaddle. If you need me for anything, don't hesitate to call okay?"

"Okay, I will – don't worry Peter," Claire grinned up at him.

Peter ruffled Sylar's hair before turning to leave, "I'm not very good at not worrying, but I'll try." Giving the two a smirk over his shoulder and a raised hand to signal a farewell, Peter headed out the door as the sound of his feet bounding down the steps and the metal clang of the apartment's front entrance rang up the stairs was heard signifying the two were now alone.


	45. Fluff and Stuff

Sylar turned his deep seeded eyes back up to Claire and leaned back to get comfortable again as he asked Claire to continue, "You were saying something about History class?"

"Yea, my teacher is American Indian and we spent the class finally learning our country's true history, which isn't good. But, it's good we're learning the truth," Claire shrugged.

Sylar's impossibly thick eyebrows shot up in curiosity edging for her to feel free to continue, "Oh? The truth always seems clouded when dealing with history."

"It sure does! Did you know the French were the ones who started scalping the Indians, and not the other way around? ...they thought their hair was strange and wanted to show it like art! Or the Andy Jackson purposely sent the Cherokee – even the children – on a march of almost certain death during the WINTER so that white Americans wouldn't have to coexist on the land? Or, or that children of all the tribes were taken from their parents and put into Christian boarding schools where they were often beaten, especially for speaking their own language? ...the teachers even forced the children to drink milk, even though American Indians are mostly lactose intolerant and would get painfully sick! And that's not even the half of it! Can you believe that?!" Claire broke off as her eyes glazed over in thinking about the horror of it all.

Sylar frowned thinking of the prejudice nature of man as he responded, "There really is too much hate in the world. Do you think it would be the same for us? Like the Nazis did to the Jews and the settlers did to the Indians?"

"Maybe. ...Yeah," Claire admitted slowly. "People fear and attack what's different. Not all people do, but enough are that way. But this time we have the power. If we work together, we can make the world a better place."

Sylar chuckled, "If you start singing 'We are the world', I'm going to smack you!" He gave her an impish grin waiting for a reaction.

Claire mock glared at him, but was unable to keep the grin off of her face. "I might just not give you your surprise now," she said, turning and pretending to pout.

Sylar's eyebrow quirked upward eyes glistening, "Surprise?" He sat up even more peering over her shoulder with curious intent.

Claire turned her head ever so slightly to look at him as she teased, "It's a shame it'll have to go to waste." She bit her lips to keep the smile away.

Sylar mock pouted over exaggeratedly giving his best puppy dog sad face, "Would you punish a sick man so?"

Claire's mock glare melted away as she turned to look at him. "No," she relented with a giggle. Picking up a large canvas bag and pulling out a big white box she gave him a conspiratorial grin, "Whenever my brother gets sick, Mom always gets him coconut cake donuts and when I was driving over today, I saw a donut shop that had them."

Sylar's smile grew in anticipation of the treat. His appetite was now coming back from the previous day of hardly eating. "Mmm. That is a good surprise if I do say so!"

Claire's smile widened and she opened the box, offering it to him. "Hungry?"

Sylar nodded enthusiastically, "For donuts? Absolutely!"

"Alright!" Claire laughed, "Mind if I have a donut, too?" She was already looking at which one she wanted as she asked, nibbling her lip happily

Sylar beamed merrily, "From the look in your eyes, I don't think I could keep you from them if I tried!" Already feeling much better, Sylar slid off the couch and walked around to the kitchen to grab napkins and paper plates bringing them back to the table and setting a place for both of them before sitting down.

Claire had thought Sylar had gone to get a drink, and was already through half a donut when she noted his arrival with the plates and napkins. Nearly choking on a quick laugh, she gave him a closed mouth smile, her cheeks bulging with donut tastiness.

Sylar turned a gaze of wide eyed innocence to Claire at her muffled laugh before realizing why she was laughing. An instant grin broke across his face as he remarked, "Couldn't wait I see. Well, come sit down with me before you eat all my donuts," he giggled.

Claire's eyes shot wide at the playful accusation. "Mn no' gun' ea' ULL of'em," she indignantly insisted, hand on her hip, around another mouthful as she finished off her first donut before plopping and curling up next to him and looking back into the box.

Sylar was already feeling tons better than he did when he'd first woke up, but sitting in the chair reminded him of his achiness, and he slouched using the table to brace himself as he ate one of the donuts. He watched Claire curiously as he ate enjoying her company even in the silence.

Claire was in donut heaven, wishing she hadn't purchased a full dozen as she simply couldn't resist sweets when they were right there. Nibbling her way through her second donut she glanced at Sylar, catching him studying her as he ate his own donut. She grinned and rustled his hair, "I thought these would make you feel better!"

Sylar let out a contented sigh, "You definitely thought right. Of course you being here brightens my day considerably I think." He gave her a soft chuckle before continuing, "I'm guessing since I'm sick and all that we'll be staying in today eh?"

Claire beamed at his sweet words as she felt her cheeks warm. "Yea, but we can still have fun," she said, realizing she hadn't actually thought of anything to do. "Peter has a comfy couch and cable, we have donuts and good company – what else do we need?"

Sylar grinned happily, "Not much, but how about some poker?" He laughed continuing, "We could divide up the rest of these donuts as ante up?"

Claire's smile faded slightly as she looked at him unsuredly, "I don't know how to play...is it fun?"

Eyebrows raising as a testament to his surprise, Sylar responded, "Really? Well then, I can teach you, or we could pull out the classic Uno cards. It's up to you really."

"No, teach me! I want to learn," she replied excitedly, clapping her hands together. "I'm not much of a card player, but I'd like to know how to play – as long as this isn't just a trick to nab all the donuts," she said with a giggle, pretending to eye him warily.

Sylar's eyes took on a glint of deviousness as he replied, "Why Claire, I'm hurt! If anyone has to worry about who's going to eat up all the donuts, it would be me!" Sylar slid off the chair and wandered into the bedroom to grab the stack of cards kept neatly away in the desk against the wall. Once he returned, the next ten minutes were spent explaining in detail what the cards were worth with what hands. They decided on five card stud with Sylar acting as dealer rotated by Claire every other game. Once the rules were settled and understood, the two broke the remaining donuts they hadn't eaten into two piles splitting and eating the last one to make the piles even before beginning.

Normally Claire hated card games, but Sylar had looked so excited and hopeful when he mentioned playing poker that she couldn't resist. After learning the rudimentary rules of the game from her very expression-full little tutor, Claire was on the lookout for any good cards as she absently picked strands of coconut off a donut and nibbled on it.

Laying down two pairs, Sylar unable to keep a straight face scolded Claire, "Hey! No eating the goods lady! I plan on winning those donuts there!"

Claire jumped, sending somewhat guilty eyes Sylar's way before looking again at her own cards. "This is good, right?" she asked as she laid down five cards in a sequence. "What's it called again?"

Sylar rolled his eyes playfully at being beat as he answered, "It's called you can eat that donut you're picking on cause you won that hand… otherwise known as a straight."

Claire smiled, "As in straight into my mouth! Woo!" She then took a big bite of said donut.

Sylar laughed at that responding, "Well played. We are starting to run out of donuts. What do you want to do next?"

Claire eyed him under her lashes, "Well, we could keep playing..." Her face taking on a happier look, "Or we could do anything else!"

Sylar considered the options and seeing Claire was getting a lot of beginner's luck and winning the majority of donuts, he opted to change activities, "What else would you like to do?"

Claire happily tilted her head and looked up, thinking. "Does Peter have any video games?" then she added more excitedly, "Or we could watch a movie!"

Still feeling achey from his sickness Sylar responded, "Peter does have an X-Box360, but let's just relax and watch a movie. I'll let you pick."

Claire nodded and quickly went through Peter's DVD collection, which mostly contained action flicks. Finally she found 'Wings of Desire', a black and white foreign film. "Oh my gosh! Peter has this?! Have you seen this? It's about an angel who falls in love with a woman and becomes human – it's sooo good!"

Sylar had crawled up onto the couch settling himself while Claire rummaged through Peter's vast collection of DVD's. At Claire's selection, Sylar raised an eyebrow letting out a soft groan, "It sounds like a chick flick… you can put it in, but I won't promise I won't pass out on you."

Claire shot an amused glance at Sylar as she put the DVD into the tray and then snuggled up next to him with the remote. As the artistic first images flickered across the screen, she grinned and snuggled into the couch deeper, grabbing the blanket on the far end and covering them both up. She watched, mesmerized, as the two angels walked around a library in West Berlin, watching the humans and taking notes, comforting them when needed and looking on with curious, loving eyes.

Sylar enjoyed the shared warmth snuggling in closer to Claire and by the middle of the movie, he had moved from having his head on her shoulder to nodding off halfway down her arm. The movie hadn't bored him, but between the sickness and being all bundled up, Sylar felt relaxed enough to slip into a fitful slumber.

Claire, who had been completely absorbed in the movie, felt Sylar wiggling and glanced down. She was a bit surprised to see him so desperately snuggled into her, his arms draped over her and now gripping her tightly. Smiling, she pulled him up into her lap, turning him so that she could hold him better, and absently patted his back here and there as she again became completely lost in the film.

Sylar felt the shift but did not resist enjoying the attention from Claire and settled back into sleep as soon as he'd been adjusted.

For the second hour of the film, Claire held Sylar to her as he slept until the film ended. Turning the DVD player and the TV off with the remote, she attempted to slink out from under him so that he could sleep while she found something to make for dinner and to recheck his medicine schedule.

Sylar did not budge throughout Claire's movements, and he slept fitfully only waking when Claire's gentle palm lightly shook his shoulder. He blinked blearily at her asking, "I fell asleep…?" He turned to the wall clock seeing he'd been out for about an hour now.

Claire nodded as she smiled down at him before holding out two pills in her hand. "Here, it's time for you to take these," she said as she handed them off before then picking up and handing him the glass of water she'd set on the table. "Hungry?"

Groaning slightly, Sylar pouted and took the pills from Claire's outstretched hand popping them into him mouth and swallowing them down with a quick swig of water, "Gah! I hate those things," Sylar complained with a well placed grimace as if his tone had not stated his opinion enough.

Glancing up then as if just processing Claire's question, Sylar answered her, "Hungry? Hmm… not really, Peter fed me not long before you showed up, but you go ahead and eat. I can come sit with you while you do."

Pouting down sympathetically at him, Claire answered, "No, I'll wait until you're hungry." She figured that would coax him into eating sooner, which is something he'd need to do to heal. Taking the glass from him and setting it back down on the table; she again snuggled up on the couch and flipped on the television.

Sylar caught the pout on Claire's face but said nothing deciding that he would wait thirty minutes and say he was ready to eat whether he was or not. As Claire flipped through the stations, Sylar studied her movements and facial quirks and gestures. They hadn't been hanging out that long, but somehow it felt as if they had been hanging out months. He wondered how she could have caused such a reaction in him. For whatever reason it happened, Sylar was happy for it.


	46. Confessions

The next few weeks went by in similar fashion as the two got even closer, and after a month had gone by Peter had finally said yes to Claire's query to take Sylar to her house two days a week.

For their first venture to Claire's house, Peter accompanied them to her house and spoke with Sandra to rehash that everything really was okay with Sylar visiting twice a week, and if it ever became a problem to just let him know. Sylar had done his best not to sigh and roll eyes at Peter's overprotective nature as he whispered to Claire, "You'd think I was leaving for a week verses spending the night."

Claire laughed as silently as she could. "I dunno, it's more like he's leaving you in the hands of an exchange family in a strange and foreign land," she remarked conspiratorially with a wink as Sandra asked questions here and there that Peter then answered, surprisingly at ease with the situation.

It seemed an eternity to Sylar before Peter finally felt comfortable enough to leave. He was annoyed by the third degree Peter was giving him, Claire, and Sandra, but his concern also left a deep seeded fondness in his heart to know Peter cared that much for his well being. As Peter's car puttered off, Sylar peered up at Claire and then across the driveway to Claire's house before stating, "Well, I guess this is it eh?"

"That's right," Claire smiled down at him as she put an arm around his shoulder and began leading him inside. "Don't be nervous - c'mon, I'll show you around!"

Sylar let himself be led through the tour noting how Sandra studied him from a distance at first before disappearing into the kitchen to emerge with fresh baked cookies. She lowered the plate down to Sylar with a smile, "Here you go hun. Go ahead… take one."

Sylar did so hesitantly a shy smile on his own face as he whispered out a small, "Thanks."

Sandra turned her attention to Claire to state, "I set up the spare bedroom for him to sleep in. Lyle doesn't get out of soccer practice until six, so dinner will be ready around seven. I'm looking forward to us having dinner together as a family." She stated the last sentence as to let Claire know this was not an option but rather a friendly order known between mother and daughter. She smiled once more back down at Sylar as she added, "I'll be making baked chicken with corn on the cob and green beans. I tried to be neutral as I'm not overly familiar with your taste buds."

Sylar nodded responding, "That sounds delicious Mrs. Bennett."

Claire had been standing back, watching the interaction with a smile. "Well, I can tell you that he loves pizza," Claire said warmly as she nabbed a cookie for herself from the plate and promptly took a bite out of it. Looking back to Sylar she asked, "Wanna check out the neighborhood?"

Sandra smirked at Claire's suggested pizza comment, "Well, you may eat that kind of junk when you are at Peter's, but you know I don't approve of that kind of meal often. We can swing for it once a month though."

Sylar watched mother and daughter interact interested in the dynamics, but when Claire asked whether or not he wanted to check out the neighborhood he eagerly nodded. He didn't get out often enough, and new places to explore were always a plus.

Claire grinned impishly at her mom as she took Sylar's hand and dashed off with him without another word. "Luckily there's waffles for breakfast – but, it looks like we'll both be eating lots of vegetables at dinner," she playfully groused once outside while leading him down the street. "There's a park this way, through a field," she said as she continued to lead him.

Jogging to keep up with much shorter legs, Sylar gasped out, "Sounds fun to me!" The park wasn't more than a ten minute walk for the two, and Sylar took in the scenery of the relaxing walk with a broad smile spread across his face. Traveling to the park, the two had made small talk about Claire's classes and Sylar's new book Peter had picked up for him. There was never a shortage of conversation between the two it seemed.

The park was a simple park with three picnic tables spaced in a triangle around the outskirts of the squared section of terrain set aside as park property. In the center was a sandy lot with a jungle gym containing two slides, monkey bars, and a two level fort on either side of the monkey bars. Set off to the side were two sets of swing-sets, one for toddlers the other for the older kids. The two wordlessly tracked over to the older kid's swing-set, and Claire helped Sylar into his swing giving him a couple starting pushes before claiming the swing next to him. He laughed pushing his swing to get higher than Claire's. He really enjoyed spending time with Claire on a lot of levels. It was the type of friendship he'd always yearned for when he was really a child, but his mother was so over protective she'd chased away most potential friends with her smothering.

Thinking of his mother once again caused Sylar's smile to falter as he wondered what Claire would think of him if he'd told her what had happened that day he had inadvertently killed his mother. Would she look at him in disgust? Would their relationship change? This line of thought came more often these days as he actually now cared what people like Claire and Peter thought of him.

He and Peter had talked about a lot, but Sylar was still hesitant to really broach the subject of his mother with him. Sylar felt a strong urge to talk to Claire about it… perhaps to clear his conscience? Or maybe it was because she was of the fairer sex and more nurturing by nature? In either light, Sylar thought she might understand his reasoning behind such an atrocious act over Peter. But what if he was wrong and Claire took his confession to mean he was more of a monster than she could stand to be around? The more he thought about it, the more he second guessed telling Claire. He had been so lost in thought he found he'd stopped swinging all together and was now just idly swaying on his swing.

Claire was having a fantastic time. It'd been ages since she swung on a swing, and it was great fun watching Sylar trying to compete with who could swing higher. She loved the feeling her stomach got in swinging so high, but suddenly Sylar wasn't keeping up with her, and soon he was staring at the ground sadly, barely moving at all. Digging her heels into the sand, she came to an abrupt stop and just looked at him for a long moment before pulling his swing towards her and slinking an arm around him before she started swinging them both gently. "Whatcha thinking about?" she asked as she rested her cheek on his head.

Sylar smiled at the warmness Claire afforded him, and all the bad thoughts ceased under her embrace for just a moment. He sighed heavily his inner burden weighing down his soul like a rock as he tried to sound casual, "Oh… nothing. I… I guess I was just thinking…. I don't know…" he shrugged now at a loss for words as he continued to look at the ground.

"Well, maybe I can help – Gabriel, look at me," Claire responded. She wasn't about to let this go.

Sylar remained looking at the ground a long moment before gaining courage to face Claire. He turned to her now, his eyes reflecting uncertainty and fear, "What do you think when you think of me Claire? Do you just see this child's body, or do you remember me before this… before this all happened?"

"I see both. I remember what you did, how couldn't I? But I know who you are now – you're my kindhearted, funny, sweet, chivalrous friend. Why?...What's going on in there?" She asked, pointing at his head.

Sylar looked down again feeling shame coat his face in a flush of crimson, "I guess I was just thinking of all the horrible stuff I did… I try not to dwell on it, but it's always there you know? Sometimes I just wonder if I deserve people like you and Peter in my life."

"Of course you do – of course," she soothed, pulling him off of his swing and crushing him in a hug. "Yes, you've done some horrible stuff – but you don't anymore. We both know that if you got your powers back today that you wouldn't go back to doing those things. You've changed, and I don't ever want you feeling like you don't deserve a good life, ok?" She cupped his face in her hands and looked into his eyes.

What Claire saw was fear and insecurity, Sylar couldn't help wonder if he did have his powers back, would he also get the monster back in turn? He couldn't be certain. But to ease Claire's mind he turned his eyes down and nodded slightly as he responded, "Yeah… okay."

She looked at him, seeing his own uncertainty. "I believe in you, Gabriel." Sighing, she wondered at exactly what 'horrible stuff' had been on his mind. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I won't push you away."

Sylar's stomach tightened; he did want to tell her, if only for the fact to get his mother's death off his chest. The wound of it was a festering sore in his heart that in order for it to ever heal, the truth had to be cut and bled out.

Long seconds plodded into a full minute before Sylar finally found the nerve to respond, "I think you don't know what I'm capable of Claire… and if you did… if you did know, you might not feel the same as you do now." He glanced back up at her now to gauge her response seeing the concern in her eyes, he turned away once more before continuing, "I killed my own mother Claire. Not on purpose, but I did, and after I did, I should have felt horrified and mournful… but I really only felt shock followed by relief…" He again turned to look at Claire ready to face her now that he had admitted this fact fearing her response with all of his being as he asked, "What kind of person does that make me?"

Claire tried to keep her face neutral, but what he'd said and the way he'd said it made her so sad and so she hugged him to her again. Why would he be relieved? What did the woman do to him to make him feel relief at accidentally killing her? Obviously, this was a big factor in what had turned her friend into the monster that he once was. "Why were you relieved?" she prodded gently.

The hug Claire offered made tears prick his eyes as Sylar was awed by her compassion where he was sure he would have received revulsion. He thought about her question answering slowly, "I… I guess I just felt free."

"Free from what?"

Another long pause followed Claire's question as Sylar worked to articulate into words his feelings, "There were always expectations… I was just never good enough for her… I couldn't just be me. I had to be someone larger than life to replace the fact that dad left us… She didn't really want me; she wanted a person in a snowglobe. A person contained to shake the bubble and watch the flurry of flakes dance around him, but only when she was the one who controlled it." Sylar felt his throat closing around the words now as memories of his past growing up leading up to his mother's death dotted across his mind in rapid succession.

Claire hugged him tighter, cradling and patting his head under her chin. She gave him a moment before asking, "How did it happen?"

Dry lips parted to recount that night, but Sylar wasn't overly fond of the details and shortened them as much as possible, "I came back home to see her… it was about six months after I discovered having powers. I wanted to show her, make her proud… but I scared her, and she ran from me. I waited by her door, but she wouldn't come out. When she had finally come out; there was a struggle, a pair of scissors she was threatening me with stabbed her instead of me. She meant to kill me… she should have… I've hurt so many people Claire. I'm a monster who's own mother wanted to kill him." Sylar's voice wavered and the standing tears in his eyes spilled down his cheeks into the soft pool of Claire's long tresses.

Claire shook her head. "You really don't see it, do you? You were too shocked to feel anything. How could you? She tried to kill you – your own mother! You just wanted acceptance." This made sense, the way Sylar had been able to shut off feelings towards other humans had to have started here. "...Gabriel, that's not normal – the way she raised you. Mothers in their right minds don't try to kill their children, no matter what. Can't you see how abusive that environment was for you? I'm not saying that makes all the things you did ok – it doesn't, not at all – but you have to see this for what it is." Claire pulled his head up so she could look him in the eyes. "You defended yourself. That's only natural. ...what happened after that? What did you do?" Claire was guessing that this had been when Sylar had completely turned his back on humanity.

With Claire's hand cupping his chin, he was unable to really look away, but he dropped his eyes into her palm as he uttered, "I… I let the monster take control."

Slinking down to force him to look at her she said, "It's ok Gabriel, I'm not judging you. I want to make sure you understand yourself, ok? Tell me why you let the monster take control."

Sylar's gut twisted at this question as a fresh set of tears slid down the previous tear tracks and into Claire's palm, "I don't know… I guess I just didn't want to be me anymore. If I let the monster out, I wouldn't have to deal with looking in the mirror at the loser I had become."

"So, in a way, that wasn't you at all was it?" Claire asked with the beginning of an encouraging grin.

Sylar's brows raised in consideration before he blinked away the hope this gave him, no, it was him, and he knew he could not hide behind the alter ego he'd created to erase his guilt. He frowned responding, "It was me, just not the good parts. It's hard to explain… I stepped outside of reality letting the powers go to my head. Now that I don't have them… and that this happened," he motioned with his hands at his child body, "I've had a lot of time to think and to see just how badly I had let myself sink. Life was like a video game where I was just looking for the next power, and I didn't care who I'd hurt as long as I got it… I wanted to be special like I never was before… more special than anyone else was." A deep shame overtook Sylar as he spoke, and his face flushed in response.

Claire's eyes glazed over with tears, "You've come a long way to have said something like that. ...are you still that person?"

Sylar sniffled as he wiped tears away mumbling a watery, "I want to say no… but to tell you the truth, I don't really know."

"I don't see that person anymore – not even on the first day at Peter's apartment. People change, Gabriel – people are always changing...even us."

Sylar nodded slightly at Claire's words comforted that she believed in him more than he believed in himself. He lifted his gaze to meet Claire's watery eyes shining a ray of hope at him that warmed Sylar's heart. A genuine smile broke across his lips as he sniffled, "You're right Claire. Heck, if you can see a better person in me after everything I put you through, than I'm just going to have to live up to your expectations won't I?"

Claire blinked away her tears as she beamed at him. "Yes I am - and you bet you are," she teased him, "because you're only other option is the TICKLE MONSTER!" At that, Claire began tickling his sides and armpits as she trapped him on his swing.

Sylar's body convulsed in spasms of uncontrollable laughter as Claire pinned him from getting out of his swing. When he could take no more of her tickling, Sylar cried out in half gasps, "Okay! Uncle! Uncle!"

Claire finally ceased her assault and let him up, "C'mon, I'll show you more of the neighborhood."

Barely containing giggles, Sylar removed his hands from his aching sides and wiped the tears from laughter from the corner of his eyes as he hoped off the swing. He smiled broadly up at Claire nodding his approval, "Lead the way el captain!"

Claire smiled down at him wrapping her arm around his shoulder and led him up and down various streets, showing him all of her favorite places. As the time ticked by, she eventually led him back home for dinner. "We're home!" she called out happily as they walked in the front door.

The walk had been nice, and the two had shared amicable silence for half of it. It was reassuring to Sylar just how well they could get along without saying a word when no words needed saying.

Arriving back at the Bennett household, Sylar's nerves shot up slightly. There was another vehicle parked in the driveway now; it was most likely Noah's.


	47. Dinner date

Noah let the blinds slip from his fingertips at seeing the two arriving home. Sandra scowled at him remarking, "Now Noah, you promised me that you wouldn't make this uncomfortable for Claire or our little guest, so come sit down at the table and stop pacing about."

Noah sighed at the chiding only giving her a slight nod and a defeated, "Okay, okay; I'm sitting as we speak." Noah did as he said being sure to sit at the far end of the table facing the door ready for anything unexpected to happen.

Taking Sylar's little hand in her own, Claire protectively led him into the kitchen to greet her father. "Hi Dad, how was your day?" she asked sweetly as she leaned in for a hug before sitting next to him, pulling Sylar towards the chair next to her and then gave him a warm smile. She hoped to engage the two in conversation to ease everyone's nerves.

Sylar tensed immediately at seeing Noah and his plastic smile glaring down at him. If Claire hadn't been holding his hand, Sylar would have likely never entered the house without hesitation. He was quick to take the seat Claire offered, and once he'd settled himself, he warily watched Noah as all his hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

Noah hugged his daughter keeping a hawk eye on Sylar throughout his smile never slackening as if it were frozen in place. He answered Claire's question as loosely as he could without seeming too uncomfortable with having a serial killer over for dinner, "Oh you know, same old same old. And school?"

"Same old same old," she said with an appraising grin as she noticed Noah's demeanor. "I did have a lot of fun showing Gabriel around the neighborhood, though. It's nice having him here." At this she smiled sweetly at both of her parents before winking at Sylar as Sandra finally sat, having just set the chicken on the table.

Sandra smiled sweetly at all sweeping her eyes across the table before taking up each plate to begin scooping out helpings for each. Seeing the vacant seat had not been filled yet, Sandra called out, "Lyle! Come eat!"

A not too distant cry came from out of the hall bathroom, "Coming!" The teenage boy was like lightening bounding into the dining room with a wet towel from his shower tucked under his arm as he slid into his seat. Sandra rolled her eyes that he was so rushed that he'd brought his towel as well.

Sylar merely kept quiet throughout watching the interactions from the sidelines preferring not to get involved.

With all now in attendance, Noah straightened trying to manage a pleasant demeanor as he asked, "What do you two have planned for the night?"

Claire was quietly laughing at her brother's antics. Turning to look at her father, she gave a questioning look to Sylar. "I dunno. Maybe watch a movie and play some games. You can join us if you can be nice," She answered in a playful tone before looking at her Mom and Lyle, "you two are welcome, too!"

Sandra smiled and responded, "Oh Lyle and I are going to Walmart to pick up the supplies he needs to work on his Science project aren't we Lyle?"

An instant frown appeared on Lyle's face, "Mom! It's not due for two whole weeks!"

Noah was quick to interject, "All the better to get it done then, so you won't have to worry about it later." Turning back to Claire and giving Sylar a wicked looking grin, Noah added, "I can be very nice when I want to be Claire Bear; besides, I am looking forward to hanging out with you two."

Sylar did his best to keep the dread that was filling him at the prospect of Noah and he being in the same proximity for an extended amount of time out of mind as he turned his attention to the food. He smiled sweetly at Sandra picking up his fork and sitting up straight, "This smells great Mrs. Bennett."

"Why thank you, hon," Sandra smiled at him as she picked up her own fork.

Claire saw right through her father's intentions, noting the grin he'd given Sylar. "Well good. We'll let Gabriel pick what he wants to do then," she said as she leaned into his small frame for a one armed hug, giving him a reassuring smile before digging into her own food. After a hefty mouthful, she gave her father a warning look before again smiling at Gabriel, leaving no question that she'd be watching out for the little guy.

Sylar visibly relaxed under Claire's reassurance, and Noah recoiled slightly at seeing his daughter take to Sylar so well. His daughter was no fool, and Noah realized his plan to study Sylar and his reactions as well as his personal distaste for the pint-sized killer would have to be kept low key if he was going to keep Claire comfortable with watching Sylar at their home. Noah didn't really like Sylar in his sanctum, but being a protector, he preferred to have Sylar where he could watch him first hand over having his daughter watch him at Peter's away from his ability to save her if the need arose.

Everyone went silent and clanking forks on ceramic plates was the only sound resonating through the house other than the old Grandfather clock tic-tocking away in the main hall.

Sylar didn't look up from his plate for the remainder of the meal. He hadn't felt this awkward in some time and now wished that he'd never agreed to come here with Claire. Mrs. Bennett was nice enough, but Noah had been a thorn in his side since day one. No, Sylar decided, this was not a good idea, and he was sure Noah was to make this an excruciatingly long night ahead of them.

Having finished her food, Claire shot a glance at Sylar. Noting he seemed miserable and also that he was nearly done with his dinner, she looked at her mom and said, "Why don't Gabriel and I do the dishes for you?"

Claire then looked back at Sylar and gave a small smile, hoping that involvement in the task would ease his nerves since it'd get him away from everyone. Yes, he needed socializing, but maybe it was best to take it easy at first – especially with the way her father was asking. Besides, she could always make popcorn later if he was still hungry.

Sylar was very ready to leave the table as the steadily increasing awkwardness of dining with Noah had gotten to an uncomfortable level. He nodded quickly responding, "Sure. I'd like to do my part." Grabbing up his plate and silverware, Sylar slipped off of his chair. "Thanks for the meal Mrs. Bennett, it was delicious," Sylar added looking to Claire to follow her to the kitchen.

Sandra smiled warmly at the little guy before shooting a 'See, he's not so bad' look at her husband.

"Thought you could use an escape," Claire whispered conspiratorially once they weren't within earshot of her family as she opened the dishwasher.

Sylar placed his dishes neatly in the dishwasher's rack as he lowered his head with a grimace plastered on his face, "That obvious eh?" he whispered glancing up at Claire from under his unruly bangs before looking back to the ground to toe at the cabinet in front of the sink.

Claire grinned down at him while joking, "Yea, you -are- human after all!" She had filled up the pans with hot water and was now easily scrubbing off the stuck on food. "First days are always the worst. So really, this isn't so bad, huh?"

Sylar smiled at Claire amazed at how easily the girl could lift his spirits, "Yeah, I guess it's just going to take a bit of getting used to."

Watching the two depart into the kitchen, Noah grunted thinking to himself, 'And I'm supposed to be the big bad company man, but I can't seem to hold it together enough to fool my teenage daughter.' He sighed going back to his plate deciding to give the two a little space until Sandra headed out with Lyle.

Finished washing the dishes, Claire handed the smaller items to Sylar and set out a towel for him to dry them with as she went about drying the large, heavy items herself. "It is. Well, if it makes you feel any better, you've already won Mom over. Lyle is pretty neutral, so really you're two thirds of the way there."

Sylar's smile widened and he let out a soft laugh, "Too bad the last third is like trying to hug a porcupine."

Claire couldn't help breaking out in helpless giggles, leaning back on the counter for support as she began sliding down to the floor.

Happy that his comment had pleased Claire, Sylar plopped down next to her considerably more cheerful than he had been at the dinner table. Wondering what they could do next, Sylar asked, "So can we go hang in your room or something? I'm not too keen on playing twenty questions with your dad if you know what I mean."

Claire thought about that for a moment, "We could, but Dad will drop in as soon as Mom's out of the house. It'll be private for awhile, though. Or we could get comfy on the couch and put on a movie – whatever you want is fine by me."

Sylar mulled over the options before responding, "Well, if your dad is going to intrude anyway, let's take the small reprieve until your mom leaves… it'll eat up time."

"Ok," Claire agreed as she got up to lead the way to her room. Once in her room she flopped onto her bed. Patting the bed she said, "Make yourself comfortable."

Turning in a slow circle, Sylar took in Claire's room. It hadn't really occurred to him until now, he'd never actually been invited into a 'girl's room' before, and a goofy grin spread across his face as he took in all the cutesy stuffed animals.

Most of them were bears, and on one of the bears he saw Claire's name etched into the belly. Examining the bear, Sylar ran his finger across the stitching knowing in an instant that most of these bears were likely a gift from Noah along with the pet name Claire Bear. It was a different side of Noah Sylar hadn't really thought about, and it put the man in a whole new light. Noah did love his daughter, and so did Sylar, so he made a silent vow to at least try to get along with him.

Turning back to face Claire, Sylar smiled impishly before taking off in a dead run and launching himself up onto the bed beside her.

Claire squealed out in laughter, grabbing Sylar in one arm while pummeling him with a decorative bed pillow with the other as she mock chided between giggles, "You messed up my bed! Look! Look!"

Sylar laughed wholeheartedly, and the echoes carried down the stairs to Noah's ears. The man frowned at the thought of Sylar being so close to his daughter. Sandra on the other hand merely smiled standing to pick up her plate and Noah's, "Why don't you 'try' to like him at least?"

Noah shaken out of his thoughts glanced up bewildered at his wife's words and huffed, "He's a serial killer Sandra. How can you expect me to like that… that thing eating at our dinner table and carrying on upstairs bonding with my daughter?"

Returning from the kitchen, Sandra lifted an eyebrow, "Oh, so she's only your daughter now?"

Letting out a sigh Noah removed his glasses wiping them on the cloth napkin, "You know that's not what I meant…"

Before he could say more, Lyle bounded down the stairs and Sandra grabbed her car keys off the kitchen countertop, "Just try to give him a chance. Remember, you were the one who asked for this situation." With that said, she and Lyle headed for the door. Noah watched them go contemplating her words.

Claire finally let Sylar go, flinging herself back onto her many pillows as her laughter died down. Looking around her room herself, she felt a little embarrassed by all the bears. "My Dad gets them for me, every time he has to leave on business," she said, indicating the bears. Thinking that over she added with a giggle, "I always thought he was so boring and predictable back then."

Taking Claire's cue, Sylar followed suit to fall back upon the mound of fluff turning to face her but having a hard time seeing her through the devouring pillows. He finally rolled onto his side and into her to get out of the pillow's stranglehold a goofy grin ever present on his face. Once settled, Sylar remarked, "Boring and predictable… yeah, I definitely don't see those words popping to mind when I think of your dad!" he joked before pausing a moment and becoming more curious, "So… tell me about your dad. When did you find out… well everything you know now?"

Claire gave him a nervous smile, "When you came after me at Homecoming is when the pieces started coming together. ...but, it's good to know the truth about your family...about yourself."

Sylar's smile faltered at Claire's admission replaced with a frown before he had to look away responding, "Yeah…"

"Gabriel, it's ok," Claire said gently as she snuggled him close to her. "In a way, it was a good thing for me – think about it. If you hadn't hunted me, I might never had known the truth about who I am or that there are others like me. My Dad would still have to be lying to me about everything." She rested her chin on his head, surprising herself with this truth and hoping the admission soothed him.

Claire's words did serve to comfort Sylar, but it didn't erase the guilt he felt over the atrocious acts he had committed. He didn't mention anything further instead opting to change the subject away from himself being involved, "So your dad's been working for the Company for a really long time then?"

"Yea, but I don't know how long. Probably before I was born," she said ruefully.

Sylar frowned at Claire's obvious resentment of not knowing her true father, and at that moment, Sylar felt even closer to the girl in their similar alienation from their peers and loved ones. He reached over and embraced her in a hug feeling she needed one and wanting to comfort her, "Well, life is full of secrets to be unearthed. At least know you're not in the dark anymore. I would think that's comforting."

Claire couldn't help but grin at the comfort, "It is, and I have you to thank for that." Taking another look around her own room she said after indicating their surroundings, "So, is it what you expected?"

Giving the girl a goofy grin Sylar commented, "A room full of stuffed teddy bears? Absolutely!" he giggled his smile widening as he clutched a pillow to lie on and face Claire more clearly before he was swallowed in the heap of them.

Claire tried to hide her smile with a fake irritated face, but couldn't. "Yea, I guess that was a no-brainer," she finally conceded.

Sylar sighed feeling content in the shared silence that followed. He found that he really enjoyed Claire's company these days and could not fathom not spending time with her. On the other hand, he really didn't wish to go back down stairs to face her father, Noah, again, but he knew there was really no getting around it. To hang out with Claire, he would have to sacrifice a little. If they could hang out up here for awhile though, he could at least avoid the confrontation awhile, and so he asked, "Do you want to just stay up here and play cards or something?"

"Are you sure it wouldn't be better to just go down and get it over with? It doesn't matter to me, but the sooner you two can get past everything, the better it will be," Claire said in a gentle tone.

Sylar supposed it would be best, but his brow furrowed in worry all the same. Sighing as he played with a loose thread on Claire's comforter, Sylar rattled off, "Now? I mean… I guess we could, but then we said we'd watch a movie with him, so we don't have to go down there right away... If you want to go now though, we can." He shrugged trying to seem nonpartisan about the whole thing, but his body language spoke only of his built up tension towards the inevitable confrontation to be had.

Claire gave a supportive smile as she looked at him sadly. "We can stay for a few more minutes," her smile suddenly became excited and she jumped off of the bed. "Wanna see my photo album?"

Sylar glad for the distraction nodded quickly, "Yeah; that sounds fun."


End file.
